New Delhi: It was a battle between Afghan bowlers and Sri Lankan batters, and clearly the bowlers took away the game. Sri Lanka’s batting collapsed miserably as Fazalhaq Farooqi along with the spinners struck time and again. It was a really sad start for the hosts as a fightback was expected from the middle order. Meanwhile, with various decisions overturned and controversy over Pathum Nissanka’s dismissal, it was not a good outing for the umpires.
Farooqi begins destruction
Farooqi struck on the fifth ball of the first over. There was an appeal for LBW, which was turned down, but Afghanistan reviewed and the decision was overturned. After Kusal Mendis, it was Charith Asalanka who was dismissed on the next ball itself. The second over saw a controversial decision by third umpire Jayaraman Madangopal. It was a slower ball by Naveen-ul-Haq and Nissanka tried to play a shot towards the mid-on and according to the umpires, he edged the ball. However, what ultra-edge showed was a clearly different image. There was a small movement in the line but no clear spike, so the TV umpire decided to stay with the decision by the on-field umpire.
Starting with 5/3, Danusha Gunathilaka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa tried to build a partnership. The run rate also started to rise as Gunathilaka and Rajapaksa played their shots. The partnership was broken by Mujeeb Ur Rahman as Gunathilaka reverse swept and handed the catch to Karim Janat. Sri Lankan fans had hopes from Hasaranga and captain Dasun Shanaka, but their innings did not last long. Shanaka was dismissed on a golden duck as Afghanistan’s captain Mohammad Nabi struck.
Soon Rajapaksa was run-out for 38 off 29 and Chamika Karunaratne tried to save the inning. He added 31 off 38 to lead to a total of 105. Farooqi ended up with stunning figures of 3.4-1-11-3, while Mujeeb and Nabi took two wickets each.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz leads the one-sided chase
Afghanistan started with an 11-run over and thanks to Dilshan Madushanka and wicketkeeper Mendis who gave five runs off a wide ball. On Maheesh Theekshana’s first ball Rahmanullah was given out LBW, but the decision was overturned as it missed the leg stump. It was the third over when Gurbaz began the destruction with three consecutive boundaries. Even Hazratullah Zazai did not remain silent and started to deal with boundaries. The openers managed 83 runs in the powerplay.
The first ball after the powerplay ended Gurbaz’s inning of 40 off 18. It was a googly from Hasaranga and Gurbaz charged on it, the ball landed on the stumps and Sri Lanka celebrated. Even the Afghan batting lineup saw a runout as Ibrahim Zadran was dismissed in the 10th over. Afghanistan chased the score in 10.1 overs and won the opening encounter of the Asia Cup 2022 with complete domination. Farooqi was named the Player of the Match.
