With a six-wicket victory over Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, Sri Lanka eliminated Afghanistan from the Asia Cup and advanced to the Super 4s with Bangladesh, thanks to Kusal Mendis’ composed fifty under pressure.
Before Nabi hammered five sixes in the 20th over to propel Afghanistan to 169 for eight from a dismal 79 for six in the 13th over, Sri Lanka pacer Nuwan Thushara (4-18) struck thrice in his deadly opening spell.
With Kusal Mendis (74 not out) leading Sri Lanka’s chase, the match continued all the way to the end. Finally, in 18.4 overs, Kusal and Kamindu Mendis (26 not out off 13) completed the task.
Sri Lanka led Group B with three straight victories, but Bangladesh also advanced to the next round with two victories from three games, including one against Afghanistan, the semi-finalists in the T20 World Cup.
Sri Lanka was determined not to accept anything less than victory after making it to the next stage in the thick of their pursuit. Sri Lanka held the advantage with six wickets remaining and 48 needed from the final 30 balls.
The batsmen did not take many chances against Afghanistan’s captain, Rashid Khan, who gave up just 23 runs in his four overs. But in his last over, he suffered a back injury that forced him to leave the field.
The game swung firmly in Sri Lanka’s favor when Noor Ahmad’s 17th over produced 17 runs.
Afghanistan appeared unlikely to surpass 120 runs earlier, but Nabi (60 off 22) scored 32 runs off six legitimate balls after hitting five sixes off left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage in the 20th over.
Although it is not common for a spinner to deliver the last over, captain Charith Asalanka had used up all of his alternatives for pace bowling.
Afghanistan chose to bat because they hadn’t been able to chase successfully lately, but they lost three wickets during the powerplay, which caused them to lose the momentum they had built up in the opening two overs, which had produced 26 runs.
Thushara’s late swing and slingy movement caught players like Karim Janat (1) and Sediquallah Atal (18 off 14) off guard, but the Afghanistan hitters were unable to handle the moving ball.
Before a similar delivery brought down the dangerous left-hander Atal, who also had his stumps disturbed, Thushara bowled an away swinger to right-hander Janat. The first player out was Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who misjudged a furious slog that was pouched at wide slip.
Afghanistan was reduced to 79 for six in the 13th over as Wellalage and Wanindu Hasaranga continued to extract wickets in the middle overs.
However, Afghanistan reached the 140-run milestone thanks to captain Rashid Khan (24 off 23) and his 35-run seventh-wicket partnership with Nabi. During his cameo, Rashid hit a no-look six in the cow corner area, a shot that is now a regular part of his playbook.
During the penultimate over, which ended with 17 runs, Nabi hit Dushmantha Chameera for three consecutive fours. The night was particularly costly for Chameera, who let up as much as 50 runs in his four overs.
In addition to their outstanding bowling performance, Sri Lanka’s fielding was excellent, as evidenced by the deep catches made by Chameera and Kusal Perera that removed Darwish Rasooli and Ibrahim Zadran (24).
