Pune: Afghanistan produced an outstanding all-round performance to beat Sri Lanka here on Monday by seven wickets.
The Afghanistan bowling attack caused Sri Lanka plenty of problems on the Pune surface, restricting the total to 241 despite a number of batters getting good starts.
And the chase was a masterclass in composure, with Afghanistan recovering from the loss of Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the opening over to chase down their target with seven wickets and 28 balls to spare.
Rahmat Shah (62), Hashmatullah Shahidi (58*) and Azmatullah Omarzai (73*) all scored half-centuries after Ibrahim Zadran had set the tone with a classy 39 early in the innings.
And the victory keeps Afghanistan in the hunt for one of the semifinal spots, with Sri Lanka’s chances of making the final four all-but over.
A topsy-turvy match swung decisively in Afghanistan’s favour after Sri Lanka had threatened to expose a vulnerable lower-middle order.
Afghanistan recovered superbly through the powerplay to set a strong platform in search of 242 to win after key opener Gurbaz was cleaned up for a duck in the first over by Dilshan Madushanka.
Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah put on a steady partnership through the remainder of the powerplay and beyond to settle the nerves, but Sri Lanka bounced back when Madushanka returned to prise out Zadran for a classy 39, leaving Afghanistan 74/2 and with the game in the balance.
Momentum swung back towards Afghanistan with a sizeable third-wicket partnership, with Rahmat Shah hitting an excellent half-century.
But, just as it looked like it could be a comfortable chase. Kasun Rajitha prised out the number three for a 74-ball 62.
Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai held the key to the chase, with the scoring rate and required rate almost neck and neck, with the game set to go down to the wire.
And the pair delivered in style, both scoring excellent half-centuries in a partnership that looked increasingly dominant as it progressed.
And a dropped chance handed Afghanistan the winning runs as they wrapped up victory with a significant net run rate boost to further strengthen their semi-final credentials.
Netherlands await next up in Lucknow on Friday, before a potentially decisive meeting with Australia at the Wankhede Stadium a week on Tuesday.
After winning the toss, Hashmatullah Shahidi elected to bowl first, referring to dew potentially becoming a factor in the evening session. His opposite number Kusal Mendis, however, believed that they would've batted irrespective.
Fazalhaq Farooqi returned to the Afghanistan setup in the place of young left-arm unorthodox spinner Noor Ahmad, with Rashid Khan named in an Afghanistan XI for the 100th time in One Day International cricket.
For Sri Lanka, Dusmantha Chameera came in along with Dimuth Karunaratne. The latter came in place of Kusal Perera.
The luckless Sri Lanka have had to replace Lahiru Kumara after the in-form pacer became the latest in their squad to be sidelined through injury. Chameera made it back into the side as his replacement.
Barring an unfortunate injury to keeper Ikram Alikhil, there was little action in the first five overs as the sides sussed out the conditions. The action picked up in the fifth over when Dimuth Karunaratne (15) brought the first boundary of the game, before being dismissed for lbw the very next ball. The on-field umpire initially opined that the ball was going down the legside, however, the decision was overturned upon review.
The run rate stayed closer to four, even as the incoming batter Kusal Mendis tried to hold the innings together with Pathum Nissanka.
Eventually, Nissanka picked pace and hit a stream of boundaries on a deck where the ball came well on the bat. Along with Mendis, he added 62 runs for the second wicket before nicking one off the bowling of Azmatullah Omarzai.
Sadeera Samarawickrama, fresh off back-to-back half-centuries, got going early in his innings.
Mendis too got a move on as Sri Lanka picked up their scoring pace.
However, the Afghanistan tweakers changed the course of the innings after the mid-innings mark, restricting the scoring rate which forced the Sri Lanka batters to go for expansive shots.
This bore results in the 28th over when Mendis (39) holed out a Mujeeb Ur Rahman delivery to deep midwicket. And Mujeeb struck yet again in his very next over to account for the set Samarawickrama (36) as well.
Four down with not much on board, Charith Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva went ahead with the rebuilding job at a sedate pace. Despite getting in, Dhananjaya (14) couldn't take advantage of his start and was expertly cleaned up by Rashid Khan. He was set up in the 36th over, failing to read the guile of Rashid, and was eventually bowled off the very final ball of the over.
Asalanka too couldn't stay on for too long and fell after mistiming a pull against Farooqi. It went straight to mid-off where Rashid held on to a simple chance.
A run-out sent Dushmantha Chameera back for just 1 run to leave Sri Lanka facing the prospect of posting a sub-200 score.
But an impressive partnership between Theekshana and Mathews boosted the total, with the pair adding a flurry of late runs before Theekshana was bowled by the excellent Farooqi.
And any hope that Mathews could farm the strike and provide additional late momentum was ended by a spectacular catch from Mohammad Nabi.
Kusan Rajitha was the last wicket to fall, run out in the final over as the last-wicket pair pushed for as many as they could get. (UNI)