Rahmanullah Gurbaz's 18-ball 40 and Fazalhaq Farooqi's 3-11 with the ball helped Afghanistan comfortably defeat Sri Lanka in the 1st match of Group B in the Asia Cup 2022! Hosts Sri Lanka did not stand a chance in the match after putting on a below-average performance after being sent into bat first.
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| Image Credits: Cricket Australia |
Toss Update: Afghanistan won the toss and opted to field first.
After being sent into bat first, Sri Lanka scored just 104 runs losing all their 10 wickets in 19.4 overs. They were reduced to 5/3 after being sent into bat first. Losing as many as 3 wickets inside 2 overs did not help Sri Lanka put up a competitive total on the board.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa (38 off 29) and Chamika Karunaratne (31 off 38) scored in the 30s as they did manage to cross the 100-run mark. Fazalhaq Farooqi was the pick of Afghan bowlers as he returned figures of 3-11 from his 3.4 overs including a maiden over.
Afghanistan chased down the target losing just 2 wickets in 10.1 overs. Both the openers - Rahmanullah Gurbaz (40 off 18) and Hazratullah Zazai (37 off 28) - did most of the scoring as Afghanistan bagged a huge NRR of +5.176 which would indeed become handy in this group stage.
Match result: Afghanistan defeated Sri Lanka by a margin of 8 wickets.
Fazalhaq Farooqi has been adjudged as the Player of the Match for his crucial contribution of 3-11 from 3.4 overs including a maiden over. India will take on Pakistan in the first match of Group A on Sunday (Aug 28).
Brief Scores: Afghanistan: 106-2 in 10.1 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz - 40, Wanindu Hasaranga - 1-19) defeated Sri Lanka: 104-10 in 19.4 overs (Bhanuka Rajapaksa - 38, Fazalhaq Farooqi - 3-11) by a margin of 8 wickets
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