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Farooqi Flattens SL Before Shahidi, Omarzai Lead AFG To Run-Chase Perfection

image-lod43wm7Hashmatullah Shahidi celebrates his 50 against SL at the 2023 World Cup (AP)

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka: 241 all out (49.3 overs) [Pathum Nissanka: 46 (60), Kusal Mendis: 39 (50); Fazalhaq Farooqi 4/34 (10), Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2/38 (10)] lost to Afghanistan: 242-3 (45.2 overs) [Azmatullah Omarzai: 73* (63), Rahmat Shah: 62 (74); Dilshan Madushanka 2/48 (9), Kasun Rajitha 1/48 (10)] by seven wickets

Afghanistan upstaged Sri Lanka by seven wickets to cap a clinical all-round performance at the 2023 World Cup in Pune.


Farooqi crashes must-win SL party with four-fer

After opting to field first, Afghanistan's new-ball paceman Fazalhaq Farooqi struck within his opening spell by removing Sri Lankan opener Dimuth Karunaratne. His in-form partner Pathum Nissanka, on the other hand, preserved his fine touch with the bat this tournament by leading Sri Lanka's recovery.

Nissanka top-scored in the innings with 46 and shared a 62-run stand with captain Kusal Mendis. The skipper himself cracked 39 runs, while number four Sadeera Samarawickrama listed an identical 36 as the trio accounted for half of Sri Lanka's 241-run total upfront.

Farooqi, after dismissing Karunaratne, claimed three more wickets towards the closing stages to finish with 4-34 from his ten overs. His new-ball partner Mujeeb Ur Rahman struck twice in succession in his spell, while Rashid Khan celebrated his 100th ODI match by cleaning up Dhananjaya de Silva against the run of play.


Half-centuries galore in Afghanistan’s perfect run-chase

Afghanistan's run-chase was rocked early by Dilshan Madushanka, who removed Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a four-ball duck in the first over. Ibrahim Zadran and number three Rahmat Shah shared 73 runs for the second wicket before the former became Madushanka's second victim of the evening.

Shah charted a well-paced 62, and his dismissal paved the way for captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai to forge an unbeaten match-winning partnership. Both cricketers slammed sparkling half-centuries from their ends to take Afghanistan past the finishing line with nearly five overs to spare.

The win granted Afghanistan their third of the tournament as they jumped to number five on the World Cup 2023 points table.