World Cup: Afghanistan restrict SL to 241; Farooqi takes four-fer
Sri Lanka perished for 241 against Afghanistan in match number 30 of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in Pune. Each of their top five batters got the desired starts but failed to capitalize upon them. Pathum Nissanka was their top scorer, while Angelo Mathews and Maheesh Theekshana had a crucial partnership. Meanwhile, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman shared six wickets for Afghanistan.
SL's lowest first-powerplay total in WC 2023
Sri Lanka had a steady start with the bat after Afghanistan elected to field. Opener Dimuth Karunaratne struck their first boundary in the sixth over. He departed on the very next ball for 15. Kusal Mendis then joined Nissanka as the duo took SL to 41/1 in 10 overs. As per Cricbuzz, this was SL's lowest first-powerplay total in World Cup 2023.
Nissanka misses his fifth consecutive WC fifty
Nissanka, SL's top scorer looked solid in his 60-ball 46. His knock included 5 fours. The right-handed batter missed his fifth consecutive World Cup half-century by four runs. As per Bharath Seervi, Steven Smith (2015) and Virat Kohli (2019) are the only batters with five successive 50+ scores in World Cup history. Nissanka's last five scores: 46, 77*, 54, 61, and 51.
Rashid Khan features in his 100th ODI for Afghanistan
Leg-spinner Rashid Khan took a solitary wicket for 50 runs in 10 overs. He became the fourth player to feature in 100 ODIs for Afghanistan. Mohammad Nabi (153), Asghar Afghan (114), and Rahmat Shah (103) are the others.
Mathews, Theekshana take SL past 200
Mathews came to the middle after Sri Lanka were reduced to 167/5. In a matter of minutes, they lost Charith Asalanka and Dushmantha Chameera as well. Mathews then joined forces with Theekshana (29), taking the Lankans to 230. The former struck 23 off 26 balls as the Lankans reached 241. He struck a four and a six each.
The pick of Afghanistan's bowlers
Left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi was the pick of Afghanistan's bowlers in the match. He took four wickets for 34 runs in 10 overs, including a maiden. Farooqi dismissed Karunaratne at the start before removing Asalanka, who was beginning to settle down. The Afghan seamer came back to dismiss both Theekshana and Mathews in back-to-back overs at the death.
