48.2 overs Afghanistan 228 (Gurbaz 68, Rahmat 58, Rajitha 3-31) vs Sri Lanka
As Rajitha took 3 for 31 from his 9 overs, and the spinners shared 4 wickets between them, Afghanistan have been dismissed for 228 with 10 balls left unused. Mohammad Nabi performed an honest late hand, putting two sixes and two fours in his 34-ball 41. But he began working out of companions and needed to take better dangers, and he ultimately holed out within the forty eighth over.
Nabi was the final of Rajitha’s victims. Although he struck Rajitha for a six earlier ball, the bowler slowed up the subsequent supply, had him mistime the shot, and ship a catch to lengthy off, the place Dhananjaya de Silva held on to a low one. In Rajitha’s earlier over, he had had Rashid Khan hit a slower one within the air to sweeper cowl, earlier than Mujeeb Ur Rahman high edged his second ball to the keeper.
Rajitha received his rewards within the again finish of the innings, however he had bowled fantastically with the brand new ball. His first over price only one run, his second was a maiden, and he conceded simply 10 in his opening 5-over spell. All up, he conceded solely two boundaries (a six and a 4) within the 54 authorized deliveries he ship down.
Sri Lanka’s spinners weren’t fairly so dominant, significantly within the first half of the innings, when Gurbaz was producing a sometimes belligerent innings, and Rahmat was constructing himself to a different rating. Those batters placed on 113 for the second wicket off 133 deliveries.
Gurbaz hit 4 sixes within the arc between lengthy-off and cow nook – a few of these being launch photographs after stress had been constructed up. After Theekshana had him caught at lengthy off making an attempt to hit his fifth, although, among the oomph went out of Afghanistan’s innings, and Sri Lanka’s spinners dominated the subsequent 10 overs.
Theekshana received one other wicket – that of Najibullah Zadran – and completed with 2 for 49 from his 10. Hasaranga and de Silva claimed a wicket apiece and went for lower than 40 from their full quotas.