Dubai 27 Aug : Afghanistan produced an impressive bowling performance to bowl out Sri Lanka for a paltry 105 in the opening game of the Asia Cup 2022 T20 Tournament at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium which was played here on the weekend.After being asked to bat first Sri Lanka lost wickets in clusters, and their batters appeared awkward in the middle of the park for the majority of the innings.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa (38 off 29), Chamika Karunaratne (31 off 38) and Danushka Gunathilaka (17 off 17) were the top scorers for Sri Lanka.
In the eagerly awaited Asia Cup opener, Afghanistan had a disastrous start after losing the initial three wickets in just five runs in two overs.
Fazalhaq Farooqi provided Afghanistan the first breakthrough in the opening over of the innings.he first eliminated Kusal Mendis (2) and then he was rid of Charith Asalanka (0) in the very next ball.
Naveen-ulHaq later removed Pathum Nissanka (3), which put Sri Lanka in deep deep trouble.
At 5-3 in 2 overs, Sri Lanka needed partnership to get back on track.
The likes of Gunathilaka and Rajapaksa, mixed the prudence with aggression, played in boundaries and brought Sri Lanka to 41/3 after six overs.
The team (44 runs) between Rajapaksa and Gunathilaka was thriving for Sri Lanka but Mujeeb Ur Rahman was able to give Afghanistan an early wicket.
Gunathilaka tried an opposite sweep against Mujeeb and the ball was sent straight to the fielder who was stationed close to the boundary.After that, Sri Lanka continued to lose wickets as they fell from 49/4 to 75/9 that included back-to-back run-outs.
Hasaranga was able to throw his wicket away trying to take off Mujeeb as Dasun Shanaka tried to poke in the middle of the field against Nabi and died.Rajapaksa was the most important player in Sri Lanka got run out when he tried to steal a run after Nabi’s mistake in the field.
In the next ball, Theekshana also got run out and shortly thereafter Matheesha Pathirana was also dismissed by Nabi.The culprit was Chamika Karunaratne who launched an attack counter-attack to bring the Sri Lankan side to 105.
Fazalhaq Farooqi (3/11), Mohammad Nabi (2/14), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/24) and Naveen-ul-Haq (1/23) are the wicket-takers of Afghanistan.
Brief score: Sri Lanka 105 all out in 19.4 overs (Bhanuka Rajapaksa 38; Chamika Karunaratne 31, Fazalhaq Farooqi 3/11; Mohammad Nabi 2/14) vs Afghanistan
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