Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets

Afghanistan defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets in Pune on Monday to record their third win of the World Cup and maintain their hopes of a semi-final place.

Set 242 to win after a disciplined bowling display, Afghanistan finished on 242-3 with Azmatullah Omarzai unbeaten on 73 and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi 58 not out, the pair sharing an unbroken stand of 111.

Victory meant Afghanistan, who’d already beaten champions England, had won back-to-back matches at the World Cup for the first time after they defeated Pakistan by eight wickets last time out.

Afghanistan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi made a huge statement by unleashing his full fury to grab four wickets as underwhelming Sri Lanka batters struggled to a below-par 241 all out on an easy-paced pitch in a crucial World Cup match on Monday.

While left-armer Farooqi’s (4/34) fiery pace made life difficult for the rivals, Afghanistan spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/38) and Rashid Khan (1/50) showed the right intent and energy to create pressure and restrict in-form batters like Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama.

After being asked to bat first, Sri Lankan batting never got going as Farooqi, Mujeeb and Rashid, who is playing his 100th ODI, bowled tight lengths and varied pace despite them getting little assistance from the MCA Stadium surface that played true through the 50 overs.