Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka, T20 World Cup 2022: Talking Points

Sri Lanka was content to keep Afghanistan at 144. Afghanistan should have got to at least 15-20 more for the base established by Gurbaz and Ghani. Gurbaz and Ibrahim both hit some beautiful shots. But they both got out to Kumara. For the most part, Najib struggled to time the ball, while Gulbadin and Nabi couldn’t provide that extra boost towards the end. Hasaranga bowled a superb final over to keep Afghanistan from reaching 150 runs.

Sri Lanka kept Afghanistan’s innings under control before partnerships could completely emerge and kept the run rate under control. Wanindu Hasaranga led the way, registering figures of 3 for 13 and causing havoc for the opponents. Sri Lanka’s chase got off to a shaky start when Pathum Nissanka was out for 12. Mujeeb Ur Rahman bowled brilliantly in the powerplay and Sri Lanka could only score 28 runs from the powerplay.

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Dhananjaya Took Sri Lanka Home

At the midway point, they were 63/2. Dhananjaya decided to boost the ante after the drinks break and went after the bowling not barring even Rashid Khan. He utilised his feet effectively, knocking the nice balls around and punishing anything that was loose. Dhananjaya Silva hit a superb fifty off 36 deliveries, leading his team to victory with 9 balls to spare.

With that loss, Afghanistan’s dream of reaching the semifinals came to an end. Sri Lanka remains in the competition, and many things must go their way for them to go to the semi-finals. They’ll be cheering on New Zealand in their game against England.