ICC World Cup 2023: Afghanistan (242/3) secures their third victory this World Cup as they defeat Sri-Lanka (241) by 7 wickets

Lanka bowling is a joke.

It is quite bad. They conceded 420+ against South Africa and failed to defend 340+ against Pakistan.

But, to be fair, they are missing some key bowlers I believe (Hasaranga is one).
 
It is quite bad. They conceded 420+ against South Africa and failed to defend 340+ against Pakistan.

But, to be fair, they are missing some key bowlers I believe (Hasaranga is one).
Irrespective, in SC esp in such pitches they should be easily cleaning up teams, they have regressed too.
This is not Aus..
 
Based on what I have seen, they are only aggressive with Pakistan. They seem friendly with other teams.

I personally enjoy watching them. They are talented and entertaining to watch.
Initial days in their international cricket matches with BD they were aggressive too. But again, thats sport it ain’t illegal as long as there no verbal and physical harm.

But speaking of BD. The biggest upset this world cup was the minnow team BD beating mighty Afghanistan!
 
Initial days in their international cricket matches with BD they were aggressive too. But again, thats sport it ain’t illegal as long as there no verbal and physical harm.

But speaking of BD. The biggest upset this world cup was the minnow team BD beating mighty Afghanistan!

Their aggression with Bangladesh was a friendly on-field aggression. It has died down.

Their issue with Pakistan is political in nature.
 
One thing I have noticed is that mystery spinners don’t work in ODI. Wasted lots of Fantasy points on Thiksena, but the guy is as useless as it can be unless the asking 8.
 
Said it somewhere else. Afg another proper pacer, middle order batsman away from winning something big next 4 years!
 
With all due respect to Afghanistan, this is the same team that got smashed 3-0 by a mediocre Pakistan team in Sri Lanka.

They have taken advantage of three teams playing associate level cricket and to their credit, they have done well.
 
One thing I have noticed is that mystery spinners don’t work in ODI. Wasted lots of Fantasy points on Thiksena, but the guy is as useless as it can be unless the asking 8.
Mystery or no mystery, I guess it is all about execution which means line, length and variation.
 
One thing I have noticed is that mystery spinners don’t work in ODI. Wasted lots of Fantasy points on Thiksena, but the guy is as useless as it can be unless the asking 8.

In today's age of data and technology, there is nothing called "mystery spinner".

Teams figured out Ajantha Mendis and Sunil Narine quite quickly.
 
One thing I have noticed is that mystery spinners don’t work in ODI. Wasted lots of Fantasy points on Thiksena, but the guy is as useless as it can be unless the asking 8.
Unless they chuck, mystery off spinners are , at best, good for run control.

They can't bowl in certain conditions like under lights etc. SL needed a wrist spinner like Hasaranga
 
AFG - 214/3 (42 overs).

South Africa should receive training from Afghanistan (how to chase).
 
Ajay Jadeja has completely changed the batting mindset of Afghanistan. There is now so much calmness in their batting. They have a real chance of making the semis too.
 
A shame they lost to Bangladesh. Otherwise they could have been at 8 points at then end of the game, and potentially at 10 after Ned.

They they would have had a great chance of making it to the semis. Beating Aus or SA would not have been easy, but its not impossible on a spin friendly wicket.
 
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50 for Hasmat Shahidi. Another captains knock
 
Mystery or no mystery, I guess it is all about execution which means line, length and variation.
More than variations, bowling disciplines are important to build the pressure. Mystery spinners tend to be loose in bowling disciplines, which doesn’t get exposed much in T20, rather often bad/loose balls take wickets. In ODI, batsmen has time to pick and choose.
 
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50 for Azmat now
took 1/37 with the ball and now a handy 50 under pressure with the bat
 
Best World Cup for Afghans . They should beat Dutch and then play 4 spinners against Aus and RSA . Hope for best
 
Afg are winning too many and should stop parading after the win😁😁😁
 
Well done Afghans. Congratulations! Easily chased. So professionally done. Go far!
 
With all due respect to Afghanistan, this is the same team that got smashed 3-0 by a mediocre Pakistan team in Sri Lanka.

They have taken advantage of three teams playing associate level cricket and to their credit, they have done well.
Not the same AFG side. Omarzai gives them a good all-round option, Naveen ul Haq is superior to Abdul Rahman as a seamer and Rahmat Shah is still better than Shahidullah.

They have Noor for a spinning pitch as well.
 
Two wins from Aus/SA/NL and Afghanistan could possibly be in the semis. It's possible.
 
Off topic. Do Afghans have any relations to Kurds? I swear they look like the Kurdish people in town where I live now. So much similarities in looks.
 
The talent coming from afghans is immense . If managed well they will have great future . Their U19 teams are strong
 
Clinical finish by AFGs. They have realistic chance of top 4 - if they can bat first against SAF & AUS.
 
Man what on earth is happening asian giants sri lanka and pakistan getting beaten easily by afghan never in my life i would have thought its actually sad for sri lanka and pakistan.
 
The talent coming from afghans is immense . If managed well they will have great future . Their U19 teams are strong
Exactly. Still a young team with good experience now, other than Nabbi, most of them will be around next the cricket world cup.
 
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Man what on earth is happening asian giants sri lanka and pakistan getting beaten easily by afghan never in my life i would have thought its actually sad for sri lanka and pakistan.
Srilanka are dealing with injuries . Pakistan been crap for long now with dud captain and useless attitude . At same time Afghanistan have quality 4 bowlers and their batting attitude has changed also . Not to forget their determination to fight till end
 
Making hashmat captain was a master stroke . This guy knows how to play with limited sources
 
No offence to Bangladesh, but I must admit that Afghanistan is second best ODI team in Asia.

None taken.

I am a Bangladeshi and I concede Afghans are much better than BD currently.

As a matter of fact, I think Afghans are better than Sri Lanka too and may overtake Pakistan soon.
 
None taken.

I am a Bangladeshi and I concede Afghans are much better than BD currently.

As a matter of fact, I think Afghans are better than Sri Lanka too and may overtake Pakistan soon.
Pakistan don’t play just cricket they play cricket plus internal politics with their bord. If they come out of that they will start beating India soon.
 
Afghanistan's next game is with Netherlands, which they can be expected to win. Then they play Australia and SA. Assuming they lose against both, they will finish with 8 points.
Pakistan's next game is with BD, which they may win. Then they play with NZ and England. They will need to win at least two of these three matches to equal Afghanistan.
Australia have 8 points already and have games coming up against BD, England and Afghanistan. They are sure to win at least two out of these three, ending up with 12 points.

So it is safe to say that it is looking bleak for Pakistan, barring of course, England coming good and beating Australia. Even then the NRR will be the decider for the No 4 position.
 
I wish Afghanistan had won the match against Bangladesh 🥲🥲
It would a great victory for cricket itself if they manage to reach semis 😍
 
Afghanistan produced an outstanding all-round performance to beat Sri Lanka in Pune by seven wickets.

The Afghanistan bowling attack caused Sri Lanka plenty of problems on the Pune surface, restricting the total to 241 despite a number of batters getting good starts.

And the chase was a masterclass in composure, with Afghanistan recovering from the loss of Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the opening over to chase down their target with seven wickets and 28 balls to spare.

Rahmat Shah (62), Hashmatullah Shahidi (58*) and Azmatullah Omarzai (73*) all scored half-centuries after Ibrahim Zadran had set the tone with a classy 39 early in the innings.

And the victory keeps Afghanistan in the hunt for one of the semi-final spots, with Sri Lanka’s chances of making the final four all-but over.

Match 30: Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets

A topsy-turvy match swung decisively in Afghanistan’s favour after Sri Lanka had threatened to expose a vulnerable lower-middle order.

Afghanistan recovered superbly through the powerplay to set a strong platform in search of 242 to win after key opener Gurbaz was cleaned up for a duck in the first over by Dilshan Madushanka.

Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah put on a steady partnership through the remainder of the powerplay and beyond to settle the nerves, but Sri Lanka bounced back when Madushanka returned to prise out Zadran for a classy 39, leaving Afghanistan 74/2 and with the game in the balance.

Momentum swung back towards Afghanistan with a sizeable third-wicket partnership, with Rahmat Shah hitting an excellent half-century.

But, just as it looked like it could be a comfortable chase. Kasun Rajitha prised out the number three for a 74-ball 62.

Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai held the key to the chase, with the scoring rate and required rate almost neck and neck, with the game set to go down to the wire.

And the pair delivered in style, both scoring excellent half-centuries in a partnership that looked increasingly dominant as it progressed.

And a dropped chance handed Afghanistan the winning runs as they wrapped up victory with a significant net run rate boost to further strengthen their semi-final credentials.

Netherlands await next up in Lucknow on Friday, before a potentially decisive meeting with Australia at the Wankhede Stadium a week on Tuesday.

After winning the toss, Hashmatullah Shahidi elected to bowl first, referring to dew potentially becoming a factor in the evening session. His opposite number Kusal Mendis, however, believed that they would've batted irrespective.

Fazalhaq Farooqi returned to the Afghanistan setup in the place of young left-arm unorthodox spinner Noor Ahmad, with Rashid Khan named in an Afghanistan XI for the 100th time in One Day International cricket.

For Sri Lanka, Dusmantha Chameera came in along with Dimuth Karunaratne. The latter came in place of Kusal Perera.

The luckless Sri Lanka have had to replace Lahiru Kumara after the in-form pacer became the latest in their squad to be sidelined through injury. Chameera made it back into the side as his replacement.

Barring an unfortunate injury to keeper Ikram Alikhil, there was little action in the first five overs as the sides sussed out the conditions. The action picked up in the fifth over when Dimuth Karunaratne (15) brought the first boundary of the game, before being dismissed for lbw the very next ball. The on-field umpire initially opined that the ball was going down the legside, however, the decision was overturned upon review.

The run rate stayed closer to four, even as the incoming batter Kusal Mendis tried to hold the innings together with Pathum Nissanka.

Eventually, Nissanka picked pace and hit a stream of boundaries on a deck where the ball came well on the bat. Along with Mendis, he added 62 runs for the second wicket before nicking one off the bowling of Azmatullah Omarzai.

Sadeera Samarawickrama, fresh off back-to-back half-centuries, got going early in his innings. Mendis too got a move on as Sri Lanka picked up their scoring pace.

However, the Afghanistan tweakers changed the course of the innings after the mid-innings mark, restricting the scoring rate which forced the Sri Lanka batters to go for expansive shots.

This bore results in the 28th over when Mendis (39) holed out a Mujeeb Ur Rahman delivery to deep midwicket. And Mujeeb struck yet again in his very next over to account for the set Samarawickrama (36) as well.

Four down with not much on board, Charith Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva went ahead with the rebuilding job at a sedate pace. Despite getting in, Dhananjaya (14) couldn't take advantage of his start and was expertly cleaned up by Rashid Khan. He was set up in the 36th over, failing to read the guile of Rashid, and was eventually bowled off the very final ball of the over.

Asalanka too couldn't stay on for too long and fell after mistiming a pull against Farooqi. It went straight to mid-off where Rashid held on to a simple chance.

A run-out sent Dushmantha Chameera back for just 1 run to leave Sri Lanka facing the prospect of posting a sub-200 score.

But an impressive partnership between Theekshana and Mathews boosted the total, with the pair adding a flurry of late runs before Theekshana was bowled by the excellent Farooqi.

And any hope that Mathews could farm the strike and provide additional late momentum was ended by a spectacular catch from Mohammad Nabi.

Kusan Rajitha was the last wicket to fall, run out in the final over as the last-wicket pair pushed for as many as they could get.

Source: ICC
 
I live in Pune, I am not sure why people were carrying Afghanistan flags everywhere outside stadium. Unfortunatly I booked tickets of 1st Nov match but now regret I should have tickets of today’s match. It’s fun to support afghans than supporting NZ or SA.
 
I live in Pune, I am not sure why people were carrying Afghanistan flags everywhere outside stadium. Unfortunatly I booked tickets of 1st Nov match but now regret I should have tickets of today’s match. It’s fun to support afghans than supporting NZ or SA.
Because india is big supporter of Afghanistan in every terms, nothing to be amazed
 
Afghanis would fancy their chances against Netherlands, Australia and South Africa. Their IPL experience, team management and some brilliant players are delivering on the biggest stage. Pakistan failed to learn from narrow wins it had against them. Some strong, western-educated women are also building the soft image of Afghanistan, while the same is missing for orphan Pakistan, where such energies are funneled to the marketing of Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif instead. Surprised that Afghanistan is nationalist, while Pakistan has different qabeelas (e.g. Sarfraz vs Babar) fighting among each other.
 
Another clinical chase for the afghanis, but I think the loss against bangladesh to start will come back to bite them.
They should win against the netherlands to go to 8 points, but it'll most likely stop there as the aussies and SA are looking too good for them. Who knows though, we could well be in for another shock.
 
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