Azmatullah Omarzai (73*), skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (58*) shine with bat while pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi takes 4-34 as Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka by 7 wkts for fifth spot
Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai (73*) celebrates his half-century v Sri Lanka with teammate Hashmatullah Shahidi (58*) in Pune yesterday
Rahmat Shah (62), skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (58 not out) and Azmatullah Omarzai (73 not out) slammed well-timed half-centuries to complement the superb bowling effort of pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi (4-34) as Afghanistan defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets in their World Cup match here on Monday.
Chasing 242 for victory, Afghanistan went past the target in 45.2 overs for the loss of three wickets. A 111-run partnership between Shahidi (58 not out) and Azmatullah (73 not out) for the unbroken fourth wicket stand formed the cornerstone of the big win, their third in this tournament. The result also helped them climb to fifth place on the table with six points and with three more matches remaining the Afghans will dream of making a run for the semifinals. Sri Lanka remained on sixth spot with four points from six matches.
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Afghan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi during his 4-34 v SL yesterday
Following their breathtaking performances against England and Pakistan, Afghanistan went into the match against Sri Lanka as slight favourites and pacer Farooqi made a huge statement by unleashing his full fury to grab four wickets for 34 runs to demolish the Islanders for 241 runs. Rahmat, Shahidi and Azmatullah then played with determination to help their side reach the target.
Despite the early dismissal of his opening partner Rahmanullah Gurbaz, dismissed by left-arm pacer Dilshan Madushanka for a duck, Ibrahim Zadran (39) steadied the innings during a 72-run second wicket stand with Rahmat. The dangerous Madushanka troubled Afghanistan with a superb display of swing bowling and gave his side the perfect start when his inswinger crashed into the middle-stump of dangerous opener Gurbaz.
Afghanistan though were not overly rattled by the early shock and kept dispatching the loose deliveries to the ropes, though most of their runs came in singles and twos. Earlier, Afghanistan’s left-arm pacer Farooqi demolished Sri Lanka on an easy-paced pitch. Afghanistan spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2-38) and Rashid Khan (1-50) were useful with the ball too.
Brief scores
Sri Lanka 241 all out in 49.3 overs (P Nissanka 46, K Mendis 39, S Samarawickrama 36; F Farooqi 4-34, M Rahman 2-38) lost to Afghanistan 242-3 in 45.2 overs (A Omarzai 73*, R Shah 62, H Shahidi 58*, I Zadran 39; D Madushanka 2-48) by 7 wickets
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