Afghanistan beats Sri Lanka for the first time in World Cup

Afghanistan registered a comfortable 7-wicket win against Sri Lanka on Monday at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to bowl first.

After losing the toss, Sri Lanka bowled out 241 runs in 49.3 overs. Sri Lankan batters got off to a good start, but they couldn’t capitalize on their start, and they lost wickets at regular intervals. Pathum Nissanka was the top scorer with 46 runs, and Kusal Mendis scored 39 runs. Sadeera Samarawickrama scored 36 runs, while Maheesh Theekshana made 29 runs. For Afghanistan, Fazalhaq Farooqi claimed four wickets.

In reply to that, Afghanistan chased down the target successfully and scored 242 runs for a loss of 3 wickets in 45.2 overs. After the dismissal of Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the very first over, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah rebuilt the innings. Ibrahim Zadran scored 39 runs, while Rahmat Shah contributed 62 runs. Azmatullah Omarzai and Hashmatullah Shahidi took the game away from Sri Lanka and made an unbroken 111-run partnership for the 4th wicket. Azmatullah Omarzai was the top scorer with an unbeaten 73 runs, and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi scored an unbeaten 58 runs.