Afghanistan nearly completed a valiant run-chase, guided by Mohammad Nabi’s brilliant innings, which threatened Sri Lanka’s chances of qualifying for the Super Fours. Hashmatullah Shahidi’s team had to do the impossible to stay alive in a game with narrow NRR margins, as Kusal Mendis’s brisk knock of 92, following a solid start from openers Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne, left Afghanistan with their backs against the wall.
The aforementioned “impossible” – pursuing 292 runs in 37.1 overs – was exacerbated by the Sri Lanka pacers taking three wickets in the PowerPlay. Rahmanullah Gurbaz edged one to Mendis behind the wickets in the third over, snuffing out one of Afghanistan’s best chances in a difficult pursuit such as this. In the fifth inning, Ibrahim Zadran played one delivery from Rajitha onto his stumps, leaving the pursuing team 27 runs and two wickets down.
Dasun Shanaka’s decision to bowl Dunith Wellalage with left-arm spin lasted only one over, as Gulbadin Naib attempted to recover from an early setback. Before Matheesha Pathirana caught Naib leg before with his first delivery, he and Rahmat Shah accumulated 21 runs in two productive overs. Naib returned with a failed evaluation in tow.
Hashmatullah Shahidi, the commander of Afghanistan, joined Rahmat to keep his team alive, facing Shanaka and Dhananjaya de Silva. This partnership’s aggressive start reduced Afghanistan’s required run rate to 181 in 20 overs, a target frequently regarded as attainable on such a surface in the shortest format.
However, Sri Lanka responded with the dismissal of Rahmat in the nineteenth over when he feathered a lofted shot to Pathirana at mid-on. Mohammad Nabi arrived next and seized the game by the scruff of the neck, as he began with a straight six down the ground off Wellalage and followed it up with two four – a streaky outside edge and an inside-out drive over extra cover – off Theekshana.
When Nabi welcomed Pathirana back into the attack with a six and a four off his first two deliveries, the tide of the match began to turn. Under pressure to execute his wide yorkers, the inexperienced pacer ended up delivering three wides and allowing 20 runs in the over. Shanaka entered the game and attempted to induce a mishit from Nabi with a change of pace, but the Afghanistan all-rounder hit two fours and one six in the 19-run over.
With a four off Pathirana in the 25th over, Nabi reached his half-century in 24 balls, the quickest in ODI history for Afghanistan. Shanaka then tossed the ball to his striking bowler for the evening, Ranjitha, who was also regarded with the utmost contempt. In a 14-run over, Nabi drew a short delivery for a six and then lofted a slower delivery over extra cover for another six. He dragged Afghanistan back into the chase for Super Fours qualification but succumbed in the 27th over, caught at long-on, for an incredible 65 off 32 balls.
The wicket was intended to deflate Afghanistan’s pursuit, but it failed to do so. Shahidi reached his second fifty, while Karim Janat attempted to clear the barriers. The equation was reduced to 71 runs off 48 deliveries, which was still very doable with Rashid Khan still batting. It took two additional wickets for him to be dismissed, with 55 required off 32 deliveries.
Rashid and Najibullah Zadran used their weapons to reduce the equation to 45 runs off 25 balls and 27 runs off 13 balls, shifting the burden to Sri Lanka. Shanaka reintroduced Rajitha for the 37th over in an effort to calm the situation, but Rashid hit a four and a six off the first three balls to turn the tables.
Afghanistan required 15 runs off of 7 deliveries, and Rajitha successfully concluded the over. Left-arm spinner Wellalage ratcheted up the pressure with two dot balls to Rashid, but the star all-rounder responded by smashing two boundaries and then benefiting from a stroke of luck for a third – an inside edge to the fine leg fence. Afghanistan required three runs from one delivery when Mujeeb Ur Rahman grounded out to long on.
But such are NRR calculations that Afghanistan still had a chance if they could level the score (291) and then hit a four by 37.4 overs or strike a six by 38.1 overs. The Afghanistan batters in the middle, No. 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi and Rashid, did not appear to be aware of this possibility, as Farooqi defended the next two balls and was run out leg before off the next, bringing a devastating end to a valiant effort to accomplish the impossible.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 291/8in 50 overs (Kusal Mendis 92, Pathum Nissanka 41, Charith Asalanka 36; Gulbadin Naib 4-60, Rashid Khan 2-63) beat Afghanistan 289 in 37.4 overs (Mohammad Nabi 65, Hashmatullah Shahidi 59, Rahmat Shah 45, Rashid Khan 27*; Kasun Rajitha 4-79, Dhananjaya de Silva 2-12) by 2 runs
