ODI world cup 2023 Twitter Reactions

'Ye naya Afghanistan ka jalwa hai' - Fans react as Afghanistan registers thumping victory against Sri Lanka by seven wickets in ODI World Cup 2023

The match eventually turned out to be a one-sided affair as the Afghanistan side thrash Sri Lanka by seven wickets and registered their third win of the ODI World Cup 2023.

author-image
Sarah
New Update
afa

Afghanistan Cricket Team (Source: Twitter)

Match number 30 of the ODI World Cup 2023 saw two teams who were coming with a winning momentum as they had won their previous encounters, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan at Maharashtra Cricket Association in Pune. The match eventually turned out to be a one-sided affair as the Afghanistan side thrashed Sri Lanka by seven wickets. With this win the Afghanistan team has now climbed onto the fifth spot leaving and also virtually ending Sri Lankan hopes to qualify for the playoffs.

Advertisment

Earlier in the day, it was Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi who won the toss and elected to bowl first. The decision paid off when Fazalhaq Farooqi took an early wicket, dismissing Dimuth Karunaratne in the 6th over upon his return. Subsequently, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis formed a stable partnership, adding 62 runs for the second wicket, although they didn't aggressively challenge the bowlers.

Afghanistan's prominent all-rounder, Azmatullah Omarzai, provided the vital breakthrough by removing Nissanka for 46 runs in the 19th over. Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi strategically employed spinners during the middle phase, maintaining control over the run rate. The pressure eventually paid off as the previously well-set Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama fell to the impressive Mujeeb Ur Rahman in consecutive overs, triggering a collapse that saw Sri Lanka slide from 134 for 2 to 185 for 7. Angelo Mathews, Sri Lanka's experienced all-rounder, and Maheesh Theekshana combined forces to guide Sri Lanka past the 240-run mark. Farooqi, making a comeback to the team, promptly secured four wickets.

Afghanistan chased down the target with seven wickets in hand

Advertisment

In their pursuit of the target, Afghanistan experienced a dreadful start with the early dismissal of their explosive batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck. However, the two in-form batsmen, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah, adopted a cautious approach and constructed an impressive 73-run partnership for the second wicket.

The star Sri Lankan bowler Dilshan Madhushanka made another breakthrough by dismissing Zadran in the 17th over. Subsequently, the Afghan team managed to avoid further setbacks as Rahmat collaborated in another substantial partnership, adding 58 runs with skipper Shahidi. Just when Rahmat was nearing a century, Kasun Rajitha removed him for 62 runs.

 However, Sri Lanka's bowlers failed to secure any more wickets as Shahid and Azmatullah Omarzai formed an unbeaten match-winning partnership of 111 runs for the fourth wicket, leading Afghanistan to a 7-wicket victory. Shahidi (58*) and Omarzai (73) remained undefeated till the conclusion of the match.

Advertisment

Let us look at how Twitter has reacted to this win from Afghanistan;

 

 

 

 

 

Afghanistan featured Sri Lanka