‘Ye toh qualify kar sakte hain abhi bhi’ – Fans react as Afghanistan clinch crucial 7-wicket win over Sri Lanka in ODI World Cup 2023

Afghanistan won the toss and chose to field first against Asian giants Sri Lanka. When Fazalhaq Farooqi made his comeback, he got off to an early start by eliminating Dimuth Karunaratne, another comeback candidate. With a 62-run partnership, Pathum Nissanka as well as Kusal Mendis stabilised the innings. 

However, during their partnership, they never made an effort to control the bowlers. Throughout the middle innings, Hasmatullah Shahidi employed his spinners and monitored the run rate. They were able to keep the batters tied at one end and run-rate to a minimum.

The excellent Mujeeb-ur-Rahman successfully applied pressure, dismissing both of the set batters. Moreover, it set off a collapse, with Sri Lanka falling from 134 for two to 185 for seven. After hanging around, Angelo Mathews identified Mahesh Theekshana to be a willing partner in helping Sri Lanka over 240.

Afghanistan chase down SL total to register 3rd win

The total of 241 was never likely to be enough on a strong batting surface. Even though Sri Lanka removed Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first over, the others looked like they were about to give up. The only player to fall short of a fifty, Ibrahim Zadran, was removed at 49.

However, with hardly any bumps on the road, Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Shahidi scored more than fifty to finish the pursuit. Although Sri Lankan bowling remained inconsistent, they were unable to play with the necessary rate pressure due to a lack of runs.

Fazalhaq Farooqi won the Player of the Match award for his impressive performance in the first innings. He took four wickets in his comeback game and was well-worthy of this award. The bowler spoke to the media upon receiving the award.

He said, “Thanks to the Almighty, nice to have 3 wins in the tournament, happy to have contributed to the team win. I was looking for swing with the new ball, but I didn’t get it, so I just kept it simple, hit the right areas, didn’t want to concede boundaries and that’s how I succeeded.”

Fans react as Afghanistan clinch crucial 7-wicket win over Sri Lanka in ODI World Cup 2023:

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