Dunedin, New Zealand (BBN)-Sri Lanka added Afghanistan to their list of World Cup scalps with a magnificent 4 wickets triumph in Pool A match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 on Sunday.
Mahela Jayawardene hit his 19th one-day international century to help Sri Lanka to the victory and avoid a major World Cup upset.
BBC adds: Tournament debutants Afghanistan sensed a shock after reducing Sri Lanka to 2-2 and then 18-3 in Dunedin.
But Jayawardene (100) put on 126 with captain Angelo Mathews (44) and although both departed, Sri Lanka held on to win with 10 balls left.
Asghar Stanikzai with 54 was the top scorer in Afghanistan’s 232 all out.
The win was Sri Lanka’s first of the tournament following their heavy defeat by New Zealand in the opening match.
The 1996 champions made a terrible start to their run chase at the University Oval, losing both openers to first-ball ducks.
Dawlat Zadran trapped Lahiru Thirimanne leg before wicket off the first ball of the Sri Lanka reply and fellow pace bowler Shapoor Zadran had Tillakaratne Dilshan caught behind to leave the Test-playing side in a state of shock.
Afghanistan’s innings was the fifth time the top-eight batsmen in the order have all reached double figures in a World Cup innings.
Hamid Hassan then bowled veteran Kumar Sangakkara for seven, leaving Sri Lanka 18-3, and celebrated with a cartwheel and an exuberant wave to the crowd.
Hassan saw off Dimuth Karunaratne for 23, and that brought the experienced pair of Jayawardene and Mathews together with the score 51-4 after 12 overs.
Jayawardene, 37, played with the calmness and authority you would expect from a man playing his 443rd one-day international.
The pair looked like they would complete victory on their own but Mathews was run out in the 41st over attempting a quick single.
Jayawardene brought up his fourth World Cup century two balls later but Hassan revived Afghanistan’s hopes by ending the veteran’s innings just three balls later.
However, Thisara Perera, with an aggressive 47 not out from 26 balls, and Jeevan Mendis (nine not out) came together in a stand of 58 to finish off the job.
The Afghanistan innings, which ended with two balls remaining in the final over, was built around an 88-run third-wicket partnership between Stanikzai and Samiullah Shenwari (38).
It was not until Stanikzai was dismissed by Rangana Herath for 54, with Afghanistan 128-3 in the 28th over, that Sri Lanka started to get a grip on the game.
Stanikzai’s dismissal was the start of a collapse that saw Afghanistan lose four wickets for 47 runs in 11 overs, with Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga and Mathews both finishing with 3-41.
It was Afghanistan’s fifth-highest score against a Test-playing nation but their total could have been higher but for poor shot selection.
Sri Lanka go on to face Bangladesh and England during the next week while Afghanistan, boosted by their strong performance against a Test nation, will seek their first World Cup win against Scotland on Thursday.
HOW’S STAT?
This was just the second time in ODIs that both openers have made first-ball ducks. Zimbabwe v West Indies at Georgetown in 2006 (HP Rinke & T Duffin) was the first.
Hamid Hassan, playing his 26th match, is the first Afghanistan player to take 50 ODI wickets. He is the joint sixth quickest overall in a list led by Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka who took 19 matches.
TEAM
Afghanistan: Javed Ahmadi, Afsar Zazai (wk), Nawroz Mangal, Asghar Stanikzai, Samiullah Shenwari, Mohammad Nabi (capt), Najibullah Zadran, Mirwais Ashraf, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Shapoor Zadran, Dawlat Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Nasir Jamal, Usman GhaniSri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardena, Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews (capt), Jeevan Mendis, Rangana Herath, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake,
BBN/AI/AD-22Feb15-12:30pm (BST)
Thursday, April 18, 2024
