Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi celebrates together with his teammates after a wicket through the ICC Cricket World Cup match against Sri Lanka in Pune on October 30, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP
Afghanistan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi made an enormous assertion by unleashing his full fury to seize four wickets as underwhelming Sri Lanka batters struggled to a below-par 241 all out on an easy-paced pitch in an important World Cup match in Pune on October 30.
While left-armer Farooqi’s (4/34) fiery tempo made life tough for the rivals, Afghanistan spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/38) and Rashid Khan (1/50) confirmed the appropriate intent and vitality to create stress and prohibit in-form batters like Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama.
After being requested to bat first, Sri Lankan batting by no means received going as Farooqi, Mujeeb and Rashid, who’s enjoying his one hundredth ODI, bowled tight lengths and different tempo regardless of them getting little help from the MCA Stadium floor that performed true via the 50 overs.
While opener Nissanka batted with confidence and stored the scoreboard ticking, losing no alternative to take singles and twos whereas scoring an occasional boundary, his associate Dimuth Karunaratne, who changed Kusal Perera within the enjoying XI, regarded tentative and missed the road on just a few events.
Karunaratne was lastly carried out in by a Farooqi supply that darted in and led to a vociferous lbw enchantment.
Though the umpire wasn’t satisfied, the evaluate indicated in any other case and Karunaratne walked again with the rating studying 22 for 1.
Nissanka although continued from the place he had left off against England, the place he had scored a refined unbeaten 77. But the aggression appeared lacking on this present day as he dealt largely in ones and twos with skipper Kusal Mendis.
Nissanka’s boundary off pacer Naveen-ul-Haq within the thirteenth over had class written throughout it as he freed his arms to a short-of-length supply to position it behind the purpose.
But simply when Nissanka, one of the constant Sri Lankan batters within the event, was eyeing his fifth half-century, pacer Azmat Omarzai received the prized wicket.
Nissanka tried to play a again of size supply exterior off from Omarzai in the direction of backward level however the ball took the thinnest of edges en route wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
The Lankan was in two minds and determined to take the DRS, however by the point he signalled to the TV umpire, the timer had already stopped and a dejected Nissanka walked again having scored 46 off 60 deliveries.
The 62-run partnership between him and Mendis although took Sri Lanka to 82 for 2.
At the midway mark, Sri Lanka have been nonetheless displaying indicators of progress although the scoring charge by no means crossed the five-run per over mark.
With Afghanistan spinners being pressed into service from each ends, Samarawickrama, who got here in on the fall of Nissanka, and Mendis have been actually stored underneath a good leash.
In his effort to up the scoring charge, Mendis tried a giant shot, however he was caught at deep midwicket by Najibullah Zadran off Mujeeb for 39.
If 134/3 within the twenty eighth over wasn’t dangerous, Mujeeb struck once more to do away with the harmful Samarawickrama for 36 off the primary ball of the thirtieth over to cut back the Islanders to 139 for 4.
The century-maker against Pakistan, Samarawickrama, who has had an excellent World Cup to this point, was flummoxed by a Mujeeb googly which drifted in sharply and trapped him plumb in entrance.
Wickets stored falling at common intervals with Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva and Dushmantha Chameera all failing to play an innings of substance as the Lankan innings folded quickly.
Scoreboard
Sri Lanka innings: Pathum Nissanka c Gurbaz b Azmatullah 46 Dimuth Karunaratne lbw b Fazalhaq Farooqi 15 Kusal Mendis c (sub) Najibullah b Mujeeb 39 Sadeera Samarawickrama lbw b Mujeeb 36 Charith Asalanka c Rashid Khan b Fazalhaq Farooqi 22 Dhananjaya de Silva b Rashid Khan 14 Angelo Mathews c Nabi b Fazalhaq Farooqi 23 Dushmantha Chameera run out (Ibrahim Zadran) 1 Maheesh Theekshana b Fazalhaq Farooqi 29 Kasun Rajitha run out (Gurbaz) 5 Dilshan Madushanka not out 0 Extras: (LB-2, W-9) 11
Total: (10 wkts, 49.3 Overs) 241
Fall of Wickets: 1-22, 2-84, 3-134, 4-139, 5-167, 6-180, 7-185, 8-230, 9-239, 10-241.
Afghanistan bowling: Mujeeb Ur Rahman 10-0-38-2, Fazalhaq Farooqi 10-1-34-4, Naveen-ul-Haq 6.3-0-47-0, Azmatullah Omarzai 7-0-37-1, Rashid Khan 10-0-50-1, Mohammad Nabi 6-0-33-0.
