Sri Lanka Edge Afghanistan in Thriller to Qualify for Super 4

Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

Toss: Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat

Scorecard:

• Afghanistan: 232 all out (49.2 overs)
• Sri Lanka: 234-8 (50 overs)

Result: Sri Lanka won by 2 runs

Man of the Match: Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka)

Afghanistan got off to a good start, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran putting on 57 runs for the first wicket. However, they lost wickets at regular intervals after that, and were eventually bowled out for 232 in 49.2 overs.

Rashid Khan was the top scorer for Afghanistan with 47 runs, while Najibullah Zadran made 32. The Sri Lankan bowlers were led by Maheesh Theekshana, who took 3 wickets for 33 runs.

Sri Lanka's chase got off to a shaky start, as they lost opener Pathum Nissanka for 10 in the second over. However, Charith Asalanka and Kusal Mendis put on a 105-run partnership for the second wicket to steady the innings.

Asalanka was the star of the show for Sri Lanka, scoring 94 runs off 102 balls. He was well supported by Mendis, who made 53 runs. The Afghan bowlers were once again led by Rashid Khan, who took 2 wickets for 34 runs.

In the end, Sri Lanka held their nerve to win the match by 2 runs and qualify for the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup.

Key Takeaways

• Sri Lanka's batting has been their strength in this tournament, and they once again showed their ability to post a challenging total. Asalanka and Mendis were the stars of the show, but the rest of the batsmen also played their part.
• Afghanistan's bowling has been their weakness, and they were once again unable to defend a total. Rashid Khan was their best bowler, but he didn't get enough support from the others.
• This was a heartbreaker for Afghanistan, who were knocked out of the tournament despite a good performance. They will need to improve their batting and bowling if they want to challenge for the title in future tournaments.

Overall

It was a close and exciting match, with both teams playing some good cricket. Sri Lanka deserved to win in the end, but Afghanistan can take a lot of positives from their performance.