Fazalhaq Farooqi and Co bring more glory to Afghanistan

For the second game running Afghanistan showcased exemplary calm in the chase, whittling down a sub-par target of 242 with ice-cold composure. A trio of fifties from Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai led the way, as Afghanistan leapfrogged Sri Lanka into fifth place on the points table with six points now on the board.

Sri Lanka meanwhile are virtually out of the running for a semi-final berth, needing to essentially win all of their next three games – against India, Bangladesh and New Zealand – to stand any chance.

For Afghanistan this was a win set up by their bowlers, who had stifled Sri Lanka’s batters on a deck that was for all intents and purposes tailor-made for batting, before their batters ran down the target with minimal fuss.

Fazalhaq Farooqi was the pick of the bunch ending with figures of 4 for 34, but the most intriguing quirk of this game was that despite being afforded a true surface with a lack of lateral movement and minimal turn, both sides scored rarely scored at more than five an over.

Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 241 in 49.3 overs (Pathum Nissanka 46, Kusal Mendis 39, Sadeera Samarawickrama 36, Charith Asalanka 22, Angelo Mathews 23, Maheesh Theekshana 29; Fazalhaq Farooqi 4/34, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2/38) lost to Afghanistan 242/3 in 45.2 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 39, Rahmat Shah 62, Hashmatullah Shahidi 58*, Azmatullah Omarzai 73*; Dilshan Madushanka 2-48) by seven wickets