AFG vs SL Live- Afghanistan Have Previously Beaten England And Pakistan In WC2023
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AFG vs SL–Afghanistan defeated Sri Lanka in the 30th match of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. Sri Lanka, who lost the toss and invited to bat first by Afghanistan at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, posted a total of 241 runs on board.
Afghanistan reached their target while losing only three wickets. This defeat has left Sri Lanka with a challenging path ahead while Afghanistan has now beaten three top teams Sri Lanka, England and Pakistan in the tournament.
Afghanistan continue their charge towards a top-four finish in #CWC23 with a stupendous win in Pune 👊#AFGvSL 📝: https://t.co/f6KGeAIahL pic.twitter.com/cCmw8unwDy
— ICC (@ICC) October 30, 2023
Afghanistan’s seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka, marked their third win in this World Cup. Apart from this, Afghanistan had previously defeated England and Pakistan.
With this latest win, Afghanistan’s team now stands at the fifth position in the points table, accumulating a total of six points.While Sri Lanka faces a challenging path to reach the semifinals.
Playing Elevens (AFG vs SL)
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Ajmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (Wicketkeeper), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Navin-ul-Haq, and Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Sri Lanka: Kusal Mendis (Captain and Wicketkeeper), Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadira Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Mahish Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera, and Dilshan Madushanka.
Sri Lanka Innings, Losing The Toss And Invited To Bat First
AFG vs SL Live-Afghanistan won the toss and decided to bowl first. Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi made one change to the playing XI, bringing back Fazalhaq Farooqi in place of Noor Ahmed.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s captain also made a change, with fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera returned to the team after being sidelined due to injury.
Sri Lanka didn’t have a strong start in the powerplay. The team managed to score only 41 runs in the first 10 overs, losing one wicket in the process. Sri Lankan batsmen struggled to make an impact during the powerplay, with a run rate of 4.1. They had only scored 18 runs in the first 5 overs.
The Afghan bowlers created pressure on the Sri Lankan batsmen right from the first over. Due to this pressure, Dimuth Karunaratne became Fazalhaq Farooqi’s victim on the second ball of the sixth over.
The seventh over was the most productive for Sri Lanka, where they managed to score 7 runs. However, Sri Lanka missed an opportunity to launch a successful attack, providing Afghanistan with a strong start.
After making a brilliant start in the powerplay, Afghan bowlers delivered a superb performance in the middle overs. Between the 11th and 30th overs, Afghan bowlers took 3 wickets, restricting Sri Lanka to only 103 runs.
No batter managed to stay at the crease for long after Nissanka’s 46-run inning. All the batsmen were dismissed for scores below 40, although Kusal Mendis tried to hold the innings together. The captain first had a 62-run partnership with Nissanka and then added 50 runs with Samarawickrama.
Afghanistan’s bowlers made significant contributions. In the 19th over, pacer Ajmatullah Omarzai took a wicket, and then spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman secured wickets in the 28th and 30th overs, strengthening Afghanistan’s position. Sri Lanka adopted a defensive approach in the middle overs with their batting.
From Sri Lanka, opener Pathum Nissanka scored the highest with 46 runs, while captain Kusal Mendis contributed 39 runs. Sadira Samarawickrama added 36 runs to the total. On Afghanistan’s side, Fazalhaq Farooqi took 4 wickets, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman claimed 2 wickets.
Afghanistan Chase, Bad Start But Great Victory
Afghanistan’s pursuit of the 242-run target faced an early setback as Rahmanullah Gurbaz lost his wicket in the very first over without opening his account.
Rahmat Shah and Ibrahim Zadran steadied the innings, forming a partnership that saw no further wickets fall in the first 10 overs. After the initial 10 overs, Afghanistan’s score was 50/1.
Following a promising start in the powerplay, Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah continued to build the innings. They put together a 73-run partnership for the second wicket over 97 balls.
In the 17th over, on the fifth delivery, Dushmantha Chameera dismissed Zadran, sending him back to the pavilion. Madushanka picked up his second wicket by removing Zadran.
From there, Hashmatullah Shahidi joined forces with captain Hashmatullah Shahidi for the third wicket, contributing 58 runs in 67 balls. In the last ball of the 28th over, Kasun Rajitha dismissed Rahmat Shah.
After 30 overs, Afghanistan’s score stood at 139/3. Shahidi and Omarzai steered the team towards victory. Their partnership of 131 runs in the closing overs secured the win for Afghanistan. In the final 15.2 overs, they built an unbroken partnership of 111 runs on 104 balls, with both of them achieving half-centuries.
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Afghanistan Climbed To Fifth Spot In Points Table
With this victory, Afghanistan’s team climbed to the 5th position in the World Cup 2023 points table, boasting 6 points from 3 wins and 3 losses in 6 matches. In contrast, Sri Lanka’s team dropped to the 6th position after suffering their fourth loss in 6 matches, accumulating 4 points from 2 wins and 4 losses.
Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afghanistan captain
Quite happy and proud of the team. Happy for the way we performed in all 3 departments. Last game gave us lot of confidence and belief that we can chase any kind of target.
It was a very professional performance from the bowlers today. All the coaching and managing staff are working hard and giving us confidence. Especially Jonathan he is always positive, before Pakistan game he told me one word and that changed my mindset a lot.
As a captain you should lead from the front and that’s what I am trying to do, I will try to maintain that in the rest of the tournament. Rashid Khan is a special player and the best player in the world.
He is a very energetic guy and always keeps the team very lively. I want to congratulate all the Afghanistan supporters and especially want to thank the Indian fans for coming out and supporting us.
Kusal Mendis, Sri Lankan captain
We didn’t do enough with the bat. 300 or maybe 280 would have been sufficient, but not to be. Bowlers have done well in the first 10 overs and the dew has come in little bit and then it became a little hard to bowl the spinners.
Actually there was dew today and the ball came on to the bat nicely in the second innings. He has done really well, in the first couple of games as well and hope he will continue his form going forward.
ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Points Table After AFG vs SL Match
| Teams | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Points | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | +1.405 |
| South Africa | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | +2.032 |
| New Zealand | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | +1.232 |
| Australia | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | +0.970 |
| Afghanistan | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -0.718 |
| Sri Lanka | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.275 |
| Pakistan | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.387 |
| Netherlands | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -1.277 |
| Bangladesh | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1.338 |
| England | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1.652 |