ICC World Cup: Afghanistan survives Sri Lanka to keep World Cup semifinals dream alive

Afghanistan secured a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Pune  in one of the most thrilling matches so far. With this win, Afghanistan is getting closer to making it to the semifinals, which they have always hoped for. 

The win over Sri Lanka is also record-breaking as it is the first time in tournament history that they have achieved back-to-back wins, after beating England and Pakistan earlier in the competition. 

Afghanistan enjoyed immense support from their captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, who scored 58, and Azmatullah Omarzai’s contribution of 73 not out in an unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership worth 111. Their excellent performance helped Afghanistan reach a total of 242-3 with more than four overs to spare.

An early dismissal of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who was the opening batsman for Afghanistan, sparked fear in the team very early in the game. But that fear was allayed after Rahmat Shah (62) and Ibrahim Zadran (39) steadied the innings with a 72-run partnership.

Sri Lanka’s innings began positively, losing only one wicket in the powerplay when Dimuth Karunaratne (15) was dismissed lbw by Fazalhaq Farooqi. Despite a solid start, no Sri Lankan player managed to reach a half-century, and Afghanistan’s bowlers took wickets at regular intervals, limiting Sri Lanka to a total of 241 all out.

Afghanistan still faced a challenging chase, requiring 111 for victory. However, their captain Hashmatullah and Azmatullah executed the run-chase brilliantly, guiding their team to another impressive win.

The victory moves Afghanistan up the table where they are six points ahead of Sri Lanka and two points behind Australia. If they are able to snatch more points in their next game, they might make it to the top-four finish, which would qualify them for the semifinals. But that depends on how the rest of the team in the group performs. 

Leon Osamor