Afghanistan defeated Sri Lanka by 7 wickets to register their third win of the ICC World Cup 2023. Afghans have kept their semi-finals hope alive. Chasing 242 in 50 overs, the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led team timed their reply perfectly.
After Rahmanullah Gurbaz departed without troubling the scorers, Rahmat Shah (62) and Ibrahim Zadran (39) added important runs.
Their dismissals added a ray of hope for the Sri Lankans but Shahidi (58 not out) and Azmatullah Omarzai (73 not out) carried Afghanistan over the finishing line. They added more than 100 runs.
Afghanistan have 6 points from six matches and are fifth in the points table.
Earlier, the returning Fazalhaq Farooqi took 4 wickets to contain the Lankans. Mujeeb-ur-Rahman was also among the wicket-takers as he dismissed two rival players.
For the Island Nation, Pathum Nissanka (48) was the top-scorer but the remaining batters couldn’t contribute much despite good starts.
Afghanistan have already thumped England and Pakistan in the global competition.
