The Afghans got off to an excellent start to their Asia Cup 2022 campaign on August 27 as they scripted an eight-wicket mauling of their Lankan counterparts, coming up with a terrific all-round display to take a giant leap towards the Super 4 round from Group B.
Winning the toss and opting to bowl first, they bundled out the Sri Lankans for just 105 in 19.4 overs, before going on to chase the paltry 106-run target down in only 10.1 overs. The nature of their victory gave Afghans a massive boost to their NRR in what happens to be a group of death, also featuring Bangladesh.
By reaching home with nearly half the overs remaining in their batting effort, Afghanistan now stand at the top of Group B with an NRR of +5.176, piling on a mountain for either Bangladesh or Sri Lanka to pip them over even if they happen to lose their next match on August 30 and it comes down to a three-way tie.
This strong foundation for Afghan’s surge towards the tournament’s next stage was laid by their bowlers. Left-arm pacer Fazhal Haq Farooqui led the pack for them with a superlative opening burst, taking two wickets in the very first over of the innings. He finished with figures of 3 for 11 for the day, reinforcing why he is rated so highly for his talent and promise.
After the pacers left Sri Lanka tottering, it was the turn of the Afghan spinners to pile on the pressure, under which the Lankans caved with shocking ease. Mohammad Nabi led his troops from the front with an exceptional spell, bagging 2 for 14 off his 4 overs.
Nabi was the pick of the famed Afghan spin trio, where Mujeeb ur Rahman, too, picked up 2 wickets for 24 off his quota. The Nabi-Mujeeb duo was backed up astoundingly by the impregnable Rashid Khan, who took no wickets but ended with eye-catching figures of 0 for 12 off his four overs.
The Lankans found absolutely no respite from the robust Afghan attack. Reduced to 5 for 3, they never really recovered from those early blows and it took thirties from Bhanuka Rajapaksa (38) and Chamika Karunaratne (31) for them to inch over the 100-run mark.
Recognising how critical NRR is in the larger scheme of things, the Afghans looked intent on finishing off the proceedings as early as possible. They could’ve slow-walked through the chase and played things safely for a win, but Afghanistan showed off their killer instinct by going after the bowling from the word go.
Like Farooqui with the ball, their other prodigious young talent, wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, shined early with the bat. Gurbaz blasted the Sri Lankan spinners and pacers through his scintillating knock of 40 off 18 deliveries. He helped Afghanistan maximise the powerplay restrictions along with fellow opener Hazratullah Zazai (37*), taking the score to 83/0 off the first six overs and virtually ending the contest there.
Gurbaz’s dismissal after the powerplay was soon followed by that of No.3 Ibrahim Zadran (15). But Zazai made sure there were no more hiccups and took his team home with nearly 10 overs left in the chase. Among Sri Lankan bowlers, only mystery spinner Wanindu Hasaranga (1/19) was able to retain some leash on run-scoring on the night, where his team suffered a potentially irrevocable dent to their qualification chances.
Brief scores
Sri Lanka 105/10 in 19.4 overs (Rajapaksa 38; Farooqui 3/11, Nabi 2/14) lost to Afghanistan 106/2 in 10.1 overs (Gurbaz 40, Zazai 37*; Hasaranga 1/19) by 8 wickets
