In their crucial match of the Asia Cup cricket tournament, Afghanistan came close to defeating Sri Lanka but fell short. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first, scoring 291 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in the allotted 50 overs.
However, for Afghanistan to secure a spot in the top four, they needed to chase down Sri Lanka’s total within 37.1 overs, as per the net run rate. Despite reaching 295 runs in 37.4 overs, Afghanistan’s quest for a top-four finish remained unfulfilled. In the final over, they needed crucial six runs to secure a spot in the next round.
However, in the last over, Afghanistan was defeated as Fazalhaq Farooqi was bowled out, and they fell short by 6 runs. With their exit, Afghanistan has finished fourth in Group B, along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Afghanistan had not won any matches in the tournament.
Earlier, Sri Lanka had posted a high score of 291 runs, with Kusal Mendis contributing 92 runs. Apart from him, Dimuth Karunaratne scored 32 runs, and Charith Asalanka made 36 runs. Dhananjaya de Silva managed 14 runs before being dismissed, and Mahesh Thakur scored 28 runs. For Afghanistan, Gulbadin Naib took 4 wickets, while Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman took 1 wicket each.
In response, Afghanistan was bowled out for 289 runs in 37.4 overs, narrowly missing the required net run rate. Mohammad Nabi top-scored with 65 runs, while captain Hazratullah Shahidi contributed 59 runs. Gulbadin Naib scored 22 runs, and Najibullah Zadran added 23 runs. Rashid Khan was dismissed for 27 runs. Now, the top-four teams will proceed to the next stage of the tournament, which will resume on Wednesday.
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