Follow UsAfghanistan have done it again. After beating Pakistan by eight wickets in their previous match a week ago, they have now beaten Sri Lanka by seven wickets in Pune on October 30. And they have done it in a similar manner, chasing down with utmost efficiency which is reflected in the number of wickets at hand.
Against Pakistan, the top three Afghan batters scored half-centuries. Rahmat Shah once again stepped up with a 74-ball 62. Shahidi was once again unbeaten at the crease at the winning moment, scoring 58 off 77 deliveries. Later, Azmatullah Omarzai’s quickfire 73 off 63 balls raced Afghanistan toward the finish line with 28 balls to spare.
“Pakistan chase gave us a lot of confidence and belief that we can chase any kind of target. The chase was very professional and I am very happy about it,” said Hashmatullah Shahidi after the win.
“As a captain, you should lead from the front foot so I am trying my best, I am very happy that I finished the game and I will try to maintain that in upcoming games,” Shahidi added.
Sri Lanka would rue not making their chances count with the bat. Four of their top five batters crossed 20 but not a single batter crossed the 50-run mark. Consequently, they fell short of the par score. In addition, the dew later at night made it tough for the bowlers to hold the Afghan batters.
“Little bit short of runs, 240 not enough on this pitch, 280-300 would have been a good score,” assessed Kusal Mendis, the Sri Lanka skipper.
“Our bowlers did well in the first 10 overs, dew came in and it became hard to bowl later. Ball was coming good on the bat in the second innings,” he explained further.
Shahidi also gave credit to the coaching staff for Afghanistan’s success in this World Cup. They have now beaten Test-playing nations like Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka.
“Coaches are always positive, we worked very hard before the World Cup. Also right now all coaching and management staff are working hard and giving us confidence, before the Pakistan game, coach's words changed my mindset a lot,” Shahidi shed light on the coaching staff’s contribution which includes former cricketers like Jonathan Trott and Ajay Jadeja.
The left-arm seamer, Fazalhaq Farooqui was adjudged the player-of-the-match for his bowling figures of 4/34 in 10 overs. He pouched the wickets of Dimuth Karunaratne, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews and Maheesh Theekshana.
“I looked for swing early on but didn't get it so then I kept it simple and hit the right areas and that was the plan for the spell and I got success in it,” Farooqui spoke about his bowling plans.
“We struggled in the past in the last overs. Gave away too many runs but we bowled with variations today and the hard work in net sessions helped,” he added.
Afghanistan are now at the fifth spot on the points table. They will look for their third win a row when they face the Netherlands side on November 3 in Lucknow. Struggling for consistency, Sri Lanka, placed a spot below Afghanistan, will face India next in Mumbai on November 2.