Afghanistan’s National Cricket Team beat Sri Lanka by 91 runs in their opening match in the Asia Cup 2018 in Abu Dhabi on Monday night after a decent start.
Sri Lanka needed to win the match in Group B to stay in the tournament but were out by Afghanistan who put up a fighting total of 249 runs at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Afghanistan’s googly master Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Zadran each got two two wickets for their team - as the five-time former winners were bowled out for 158 in 41.2 overs.
This was Afghanistan’s first-ever win against Sri Lanka in a One-Day International (ODI) match after losing to them in the Asia Cup 2014 and World Cup a year later.
On Saturday, Sri Lanka also lost to Bangladesh in the opening match of the tournament by 137 runs.
Rahmat Shah scoring 72 and Ihsanullah Janat shipping in with 45 runs for Afghanistan. Janat hit six boundaries in his 65-ball innings while his opening partner Mohammad Shahzad batted in his aggressive style, hitting six and four boundaries in his 47-ball 34.
Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Four Stages from where top two teams will play in the final in Dubai on September 28.
Defending champions India, Pakistan and qualifier Hong Kong are placed in Group A. Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh playing in Group B of the tournament.
India will face Hong Kong in Dubai on Tuesday before their high-profile match against Pakistan a day later at the same venue.
Afghanistan wants to win
A day before their match, Afghanistan’s captain Asghar Afghan warned that his team is not going to the Asia Cup “for numbers” but will be there to play hard.
“We are not here just to play but to perform. Our players have got enough experience to playing big international matches. They have performed well in leading cricket leagues, so we are hoping to do well in this tournament as well,” Afghan said.
If one is to name the dark horse in the race for the Asia Cup 2018 title, a lot of people would put their money on Afghanistan who have a very interesting squad, both in terms of batting and bowling, he said.
While the likes of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi in the team, Afghanistan has a bunch of other players in the team who have also made their mark on the game in recent months.