It was a scintillating bowling effort at death that restricted Sri Lanka to 175 for 6 with the Afghans scoring only 37 runs in the final five overs despite a brilliant 84 off 45 balls. Rehmanullah Gurbaazi,
as it happened
In reply, Sri Lanka chased down the target in 19.1 overs with several small but impressive contributions which sealed the issue for them. This was the highest run chase in a T20 International in Sharjah.
Great chase from Sri Lanka! #RoaringForGlory #SLvAFG https://t.co/X4KKcaH5ng
— Sri Lanka Cricket (@OfficialSLC) 16622227226000
Like a brilliant bowling at death, 51 runs were scored for the Lankans in the overs between 15-18 and it proved to be a game-changer.
Kusal Mendis (36 off 19 balls) Started from where he left against Bangladesh on the second day, when he started as the opposition’s best bowler Rashid KhanHe was credited for two consecutive sixes in the form of 17 runs in that over inside the powerplay.
And before that Mendis had the most Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
All three sixes were hit between deep mid wicket and deep square leg.
His opening partner Pathum Nisanka (35 off 28 balls) also provided solid support as 62 were added for the opening stand.
However, it was Danuska Gunathilaka (33 off 20 balls) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (31 off 14 balls) whose 2.3-over stand of 32 runs changed the color of the game.
His guts had a great impact in the end result of the game as he hit sixes and found the gap with ease. He hit six fours and three sixes in 34 balls.
The Afghan bowlers, who are not always used to dealing with pressure situations, faltered in the end and Rashid’s poor day (1/39 in 4 overs) took its toll.
Taking to the bat, young opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz displayed his flamboyant strokeplay as his innings was the cornerstone of Afghanistan’s competitive score of 175 for 6.
However, Afghanistan will be a bit disappointed as only 37 runs came off the last five overs and Gurbaz’s dismissal saw five wickets fall in one stroke and put some kind of brake on the run flow.
The 20-year-old right-armer, who was part of IPL champion team Gujarat Titans, hit half a dozen sixes and combined with Ibrahim Zadran (40) to add 93 runs in just 10.4 overs to take Afghanistan to a more than respectable total. At Sharjah Cricket Ground.
The evening belonged to Gurbaaz, who got a piece of luck, as Danushka Gunathilaka’s leg was touched by the rope when he went to hit a second successive six off mystery spinner Mahesh Thikshana, hitting his first six.
However, there was no looking back after that, although the right-handed batsman did not use his legs much against the spinner.
Wanindu Hasaranga’s slog sweep over the cow corner was a sight to behold and so were Chamika Karunaratne’s two sixes which were all about hand-eye coordination and maximum power with minimal leg movement.
The half-dozen sixes hit by him also featured pull shot off pacer Asitha Fernando and once he was dismissed, the Sri Lankan bowlers felt a sense of relief on a ground where the side boundaries are really few.
Zadran, however, got some setbacks and so did Rashid Khan (9) to take the score close to 180 at the end of Afghanistan’s innings.
While spinners Thekshana (1/29) and Hasaranga (0/23 in 4 overs) conceded only 52 runs in their eight overs, it was captain Dasun Shanaka (0/22 in 2 overs) and Karunaratne (0/29 in 2 overs). Were. , who conceded 51 runs in four overs for the “fifth bowler’s quota”.