Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka Highlights, World Cup 2023: Shahidi-Omarzai score fifties, AFG beat SL by seven wickets

Hashmatullah Shahidi: Quite happy and proud of the team. Happy for the way we performed in all 3 departments. Last game gave us lot of confidence and belief that we can chase any kind of target. It was a very professional performance from the bowlers today. All the coaching and managing staff are working hard and giving us confidence. Especially Jonathan (Trott) he is always positive, before Pakistan game he told me one word and that changed my mindset a lot. As a captain you should lead from the front and that's what I am trying to do, I will try to maintain that in the rest of the tournament. Rashid Khan is a special player and the best player in the world. He (Rashid Khan) is a very energetic guy and always keeps the team very lively. I want to congratulate all the Afghanistan supporters and especially want to thank the Indian fans for coming out and supporting us.

Kusal Mendis: We didn't do enough with the bat. 300 or maybe 280 would have been sufficient, but not to be. Bowlers have done well in the first 10 overs and the dew has come in little bit and then it became a little hard to bowl the spinners. Actually there was dew today and the ball came onto the bat nicely in the second innings. He (Madhushanka) has done really well, in the first couple of games as well and hope he will continue his form going forward.

Fazalhaq Farooqi: Thanks to the Almighty, nice to have 3 wins in the tournament, happy to have contributed to the team win. I was looking for swing with the new ball, but I didn't get it, so I just kept it simple, hit the right areas, didn't want to concede boundaries and that's how I succeeded. We conceded too many runs in the last few overs (in the previous matches), we put in the hard yards in the nets, bowling with accuracy and trying out as many variations as possible. That's exactly what we went out and did in the match today. 

Shahidi nudges it to the right of backward point for a single. The scores are level. Omarzai goes for glory off the next one - a full ball in the slot - and it's not gone the distance but there's a dropped catch by the deep mid wicket boundary. Afghanistan have beaten Sri Lanka by seven wickets. 

Kasun Rajitha continues. Goes short and Omarzai says thank you with that pull shot through mid wicket for four. Shahidi retains the strike by taking a single. He completes 2,000 runs in ODI. 

Dushmantha Chameera back into the fray. Short and outside the off stump and Omarzai just directs it down the cordon by opening the face of his bat. Four runs.

Chameera goes short, and Omarzai pulls it down mid wicket. Four more. Afganistan inches away from their third win at this World Cup.

Omarzai brings up his second fifty at this World Cup. He was the pick of the Afghan batting line up against India - a match they'd been outclassed in. Here though, his innings his guiding them to a third win at this tournament. 

The right hander gets a lifeline in the over, a miscued pull shot and Nissanka from deep square leg makes a run for it but his brilliant diving effort isn't enough. The next short-ball in the over though, is pulled to perfection through mid wicket for four. 

Fifty up for Hashmatullah Shahidi, his second in a row at this World Cup, and it's been a proper captain's knock. Has absorbed the pressure from one end. 

Madushanka meanwhile, goes for the round the wicket angle against right-handed Omarzai. Returns back to over the wicket against the left-hander. Shahidi closes the over with a cruncing drive through extra cover for four.

Theekshana drifts one towards the leg stump and Azmatullah Omarzai sweeps it past left of short fine leg for four. The fielder has a run, dives, but is unable to get to the ball. It's checked upstairs and Afghanistan get the boundary. 

Madushanka overpitches one and Azmatullah Omarzai latches onto it. Punched through extra cover for four. 200 comes up for Afghanistan. They're surely the favorites to clinch a third win here. Sri Lanka desperately need a wicket right now. 

Madushanka back in the attack. Bangs one short and quick and Omarzai stoops a bit and clamps it well over the deep square leg boundary for six. That went high up as well - 17m and went over the boundary. That'll get the juices flowing.

Theekshana continues from the other end. His eighth over. Omarzai and Shahidi steal four singles. 64 needed off the last 12 overs. 

Another big over! Eight runs coming off it. 

Started with a massive six by Azmatullah Omarzai, who heaved the first ball of that Dushmantha Chameera over for a 58-meter six over deep third. 

A 72-metre six from Azmatullah off Theekshana's bowling. That's a welcome sixer for the Afghans, who have been very circumspect so far, playing risk-free cricket over the past few overs. 

Nine runs come off the 35th over! 

AFG are 166/3

Afghanistan have reached the 150-run milestone after 32.1 overs. 

Hashmatullah Shahidi still holding the first at one end with 35 runs. Azmatullah Omarzai playing a very undramatic 13 balls so far. 

They need to just rotate the strike and they will be able to canter past the target! No risks needed! 

Thsi is now Afghanistan's match to lose!  

Dhananjaya tosses one up and Shahidi goes for a one-handed sweep. It takes a top edge and runs down the deep square leg boundary for four. 

Quite the over that!

Shahidi clubs Rajitha down mid wicket but is unable to meet the ball out of the middle of his willow. Three runs collected. Rahmat Shah comes on strike. Gets offered a length ball outside off and he goes for a cut shot but is dropped by Samarwickrama at backward point. Next ball, a slower length ball and he goes for a flick shot. Top edge and caught at mid on. 

Dhananjaya de Silva into the attack. Length ball, Rahmat Shah tracks back into his crease and crunches the ball through the covers for four. Six runs come from the over.

Tossed up and wide outside the off stump from Theekshana and Rahmat Shah presses forward to crunch a drive for four. A crucial boundary to break the momentum. Brings up his second fifty in a row. Can he get the big one as Afghanistan eye at a third win at this World Cup?

Continues to look impressive as he dispatches a back of a length delivery, rolls his wrist well to nab another four runs. 

A fair few similarities noted by Sunil Gavaskar between Mujeeb and Theekshana, given their release while bowling googly and how well the two roll their arms to implement the same. The frames, from today. 

Interesting that he brings Ravichandran Ashwin's name into the fray. Mujeeb's childhood coach Mohammed Khan Zadran had told The Indian Express earlier that Mujeeb's 'giant' fingers - just like Ashwin - are the reason behind his grip, which was perfectly effective despite the dew in Afghanistan's win against England in Delhi. Click here to read his conversation with Rahul Pandey

Screengrab: Hotstar 

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Shahidi and Shah bring up the 100 for Afghanistan as Theekshana is back into the attack from the other end. Six runs negotiated off his fifth over. The mystery spinner has slowed his pace down a bit and doesn't want to give anything to the Afghan pair, rather invite them to go after him. 

Chameera back into the attack. Goes short against Shahidi, who goes for a pull shot but instead induces a top edge. However, it sails over square on the on side to get six runs. First boundary since the powerplay for Afghanistan. That should get the blood pumping. 

Madushanka into his sixth over. Another economical one from the left-armer, who's taken over the initiative in the absence of Lahiru Kumara - Sri Lanka's lead protagonist with the ball in the win against England. Just the four runs come off the over.

Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi is the new man in for Afghanistan, who are in need of a partnership from here on. It was Shahidi, who'd stuck alongside Rahmat Shah to close Afghanistan's previous win against Pakistan. Thus, making 2023 as their best-ever World Cup campaign - as he'd predicted before the tournament began. Can he produce another match-winning partnership tonight?

The pressure was piling on with the required rate. The last boundary had come in the powerplay. And just as Madushanka offers a short one outside the off stump, Zadran - looking to upper cut the ball over the third man - holes to the fielder at the boundary. 

Madushanka returns back into the attack. Sri Lanka have managed to keep the run rate under control. Just the 17 runs off the last five overs. The required rate has just snuck up above five. If they get a wicket here, Afghanistan's middle order will face a big test. 

Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah nicely ticking the ball away and rotating strike with the boundaries not as frequent as they were in the powerplay. Four more runs come from Theekshana's latest over.

Theekshana continues from the other end. There's already a lot of dew at the MCA Stadium in Pune and it's only going to get tougher, which is why Mendis will be looking to close out as many overs of spin as early as possible. But at the same time, remembering that Sri Lanka's key strength with the ball has been their pacers.

Better from Chameera as he drags back his length a bit. Afghanistan do have a cushion and can take their time to get to 242 but Sri Lanka need wickets here. Just the one run comes off the over.

The flick shot comes out again. This time behind square on the on side. Dushmantha Chameera into his first over, drifts one to the leg side and Zadran is perfectly positioned to play it.

In the next over, he splits cover and mid off to push another boundary. Brings up the 50 for Afghanistan at the end of the powerplay. 

Another full and straight ball from Rajitha and Rahmat Shah is all in for the offering. Flicks it over the fielder at mid wicket for four more runs. The Afghans are rolling on nicely in the powerplay.

Angelo Matthews into the attack and he's not got off to the best of starts. A back of a length delivery that's shaping away after pitching is punched through covers for four by Rahmat Shah.

Another almost replica delivery is offered to Ibrahim Zadran later in the same over and the latter latches onto the drive. 

Rajitha serves one full and angling down the leg side from over the wicket, Zadran stylishly picks it up with a flick shot that sails over the deep backward square leg fielder for six. He's looking in the mood tonight.

Madushanka offers width off a full one to Rahmat Shah, who drives it through extra cover for four more runs. 

Meanwhile, with good amount of dew on offer in the outfield, Simon Doull has a point. "In football, they have tech below the surface. All of the technology around the world, there must be something that can be done to regulate the temperature and avoid dew," he says on the comms. 

Kasun Rajitha continues from the other end. Goes full and straight on the wickets, and is flicked past a diving deep mid wicket fielder for four by Rahmat Shah. Afghanistan need these two to go the distance. After Gurbaz, it's Shah and Zadran, who have scored the big pile of their ODI runs this year. The middle order remains largely untested barring a couple of half centuries from skipper Shahidi and Omarzai. 

Madushanka with another good over and just when it looked like he was going to end up with a maiden, Ibrahim Zadran bisects the cover point and backward square fielder to wrap up the over with a four. 

Kasun Rajitha has taken the new ball from the other end. He did not get as much of a swing which Madushanka did but he was tight with his lines and length. Perfect start for Sri Lanka they have got the early breakthrough they need to pick at least one more before this ball gets old. 

Gurbaz departs there is the first wicket. A very similar one to how Farooqi got his first wicket. The ball was full and swung sharply. Gurbaz was beaten all ends up. This is the partnership which was supposed to do the bulk of the score and did in the past whenever Afghanistan was successful. Today it will be interesting to see how Afghan batters approach this. 

I think it's a great achievement for me to play for my country and getting that milestone. To play 100 ODIs is a proud moment for me. It's unbelievable to have played all the games since my debut. I think it's a good wicket to bat on. We bowled really well. The way we started, the guys bowled really well and just assessed the conditions quickly. That's what we planned, to restrict them under 250. After the last game and the confidence we have, it's just about playing positive cricket and expressing ourselves. That's what we were expecting of the pitch. We had a couple of practice sessions here, we saw a game between India and Bangladesh here. We thought if we win toss and bowl first we can restrict them under 250. Under lights there could be a lot of dew.

Rajitha gets himself run out in the final over. it has been a brilliant bowling performance from Afghanistan. Despite Sri Lanka having their moments with the bat Afghan bowlers chipped in with wickets at regular intervals. Fazhalaq Farooqi has been outstanding with the ball. Especially his death bowling has been top-notch. It is going to be a tough task for Sri Lankan bowlers to defend these runs with dew coming into play in the second innings. However, Afghan batting is suspectable to collapse if the new ball bowlers can pick a couple of wickets early in the piece Sri Lanka might be in a lot of trouble. 

A magnificent spell from Farooqi he picked up four wickets. He has been brilliant with the new ball and even better with the old ball with his searing yorkers. This is a super bowling effort from Afghanistan and it is down to the batters to complete this chase. 

Farooqi picked up his third wicket of the evening when he bowled a magnificent yorker to Theekshana. It was a top-class delivery from the left-arm seamer. Just when it felt like they were losing grip they chipped in with a wicket. 

Now even Mathews has joined the party. This is turning out to be quite a good partnership for Sri Lanka in the final stages of this game. The Afghan bowlers are missing their mark consistently. This has been one of the problem areas for them in the tournament and today they are giving a few runs too many again

Afghanistan need to be careful here. The new ball will help the seam bowlers a bit and Afghanistan's strength is their openers and they cannot afford to lose early wickets, especially to the new ball. Angelo Mathews in his previous game was superb with the new ball and if he can swing a few today the Afghan batters will be in trouble. 

Handy innings from Theekshana he is playing a run-ball cameo letting Sri Lanka add a few valuable runs here at the end. Angelo Mathews from the other end did not have much of a strike in the last overs however, he has been running hard between the wickets for his partner showing the right intent.

We finally had an over of substance when Theekshana played a few sumptuous shots against Omarzai. He scored a couple of brilliant boundaries. Is this the over where Sri Lanka might look to change the gears? Theekshana is a pretty handy batter will be interesting to see how many he will get today. 

Sri Lanka needs to try and bat out their overs here. That should be the number one objective if they can get to at least 230-240 here and a couple of quick wickets Sri Lanka might still be in the game. Also one thing worth remembering is Afghanistan apart from their previous games have not been good in chases. 

Dushmantha Chameera gets himself runout another wicket falls. This has been brilliant from Afghanistan for the last 10 minutes or so they have been taking every opportunity that is being presented. While Mathews is batting from the other end it is important that the tailenders hang on till the end so that they can reach up to 250.

Farooqi bowls a short one to Asalanka who tried to pull the ball but did not get anything on it. The ball just looped up in the air for the mid-on fielder to take a simple catch. Massive wicket that for Afghanistan now they are into the tail of Sri Lanka.

If Afghanistan can pick one more wicket they will be into the tail of Lankans who have not shown much with the bat. One must say after a fabulous performance against England this has been pretty poor from the Afghans so far. They are continuing to bowl tight overs and build pressure. 

Dhananjaya departs as Rashid Khan bowls a brilliant delivery. The ball turned back which Dhananjaya could now read and was bowled. He was struggling to pick Rashid throughout his spell and has been eventually put out of his misery. Angelo Mathews has walked into the middle. 

With Angelo Mathews yet to come who has a reputation of being a big hitter Sri Lanka should fancy themselves to at least get to 270-280 from here. Though it won't be easy against Rashid they can try and attack the bowler from the other end. The seam bowlers have been leaking runs at the end for the Afghans. 

Rashid Khan has been brought back into the game this is a crucial stage of the game. The Sri Lankan batters need to build a partnership here. Though they are running out of time in this game they still need a base which they can launch from and they need to see through the overs of Rashid.

Mujeeb has ??!

Afghanistan gets the 4th wicket as Mujeeb Ur Rahman removes Sadeera Samarawickrama, who has been trapped in front for 36. Excellent bowling this is from @Mujeeb_R88! ?

??- 139/4 (29.1 Overs)#AfghanAtalan | #CWC23 | #AFGvSL | #WarzaMaidanGata pic.twitter.com/rJUgalMhWT

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) October 30, 2023

Fabablous spell from Mujeeb he started well with the new ball. He did not give away too many free deliveries his length was outstanding. In his second spell as the ball got older, he tossed up a few more which helped him get two wickets. It is also surprising to see Angelo Mathews yet to walk into the middle. 

They are not looking at themselves as Sri Lanka today. Right from the word go they haven't shown the same intent or body language which they did against England. Though the score looks fine one must say it has been Afghanistan who have been dictating terms in this game. 

Another one bites the dust it is Mujeeb this time who picks the wicket. Samarawickrama missed a straight one and was given out on-field. However, the batter reviewed the decision and the balltracking showed three reds. This is what he was doing against England bowling wicket and wicket and slipping in his variations and he is doing the same again today. 

kushal Mendis for the fourth time in a row perished for his favourite slog sweep shot over mid-wicket. The field was set exactly to that shot and Mendis played it and ended up giving a simple catch to the cow corner fielder. Just when it seemed like a partnership was building Sri Lanka lost another one. 

The game has come to a standstill here. The Sri Lankan batters are looking to rotate the strike and build a solid foundation for the batters to come in who have the luxury of exploding from ball one. While Afghanistan too are happy with the way things are going. They are not pressing much for wickets either. 

AfghanAtalan celebrate @rashidkhan_19 100th ODI by awarding him a special shield from @Trotty, a cap from @MohammadNabi007, and a playing shirt with the number 100 from bowling coach @HamidHassanHH. ?

Wish you all the very best on this special day Rash! ?#CWC23 pic.twitter.com/C4nORPEdjt

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) October 30, 2023

Since Samrawickrama has walked into the middle there seems to be an urgency from both the batters. The running between the wickets has gone quicker and so the batters have started to take a lot more risks. The Afghan skipper has now turned to Mohammed Nabi to roll his arm over.