Asia Cup 2022: Super 4, Match 1 - Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan: Who Said What

Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan by four wickets in the first match of the Super 4 of the 2022 Asia Cup at Sharjah. The islanders avenged their defeat in the opening fixture of the competition against the same opposition, firing warning shots at India and Pakistan, who clash in a high-profile contest on Sunday, September 4.

It was the much-maligned Sri Lankan batting line-up that came to the fore, for a second successive time in the tournament. Sri Lanka made light work of a tricky run chase in the end as they got home with four wickets in the bag and five deliveries to spare. Kusal Mendis set up the Sri Lankan chase with his scathing assault against the indomitable Rashid Khan, who had a forgetful game with the ball.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa sealed the win for the islanders with a sizzling cameo, making amends for his failures with the bat in the previous outings. Afghanistan had posted an impressive total of 175 runs on the board, which could have been more, if not for a flurry of wickets at the end of their innings. Rahmanullah Gurbaz anchored the Afghani innings with a sensational 84 off 45 deliveries with handy contributions from Ibrahim Zadran and Najibullah Zadran.

The turning point of the match has to be the drop catch of Rajapaksa, who then went onto play a crucial knock for the Sri Lankan side, getting the team home in pursuit of a challenging total.

Losing Captain, Mohammad Nabi:

20-25 runs short at the end. Also didn't field very well. Also didn't bowl in the right areas. When we played last game against Bangladesh, today the pitch was better (compared to that). We didn't bowl brilliantly, dropped some catches. Situation could have been different.

Winning Captain, Dasun Shanaka:

It's the belief of the dressing room. As a team we believe we can chase anything on these kind of wickets. When chasing, we have a clear idea of how the wicket behaves. Boys executed the plan very well - Fernando, Hasaranga, Theekshana. Very pleased to see how Mendis and Pathum got started. And the others followed.

Player of the Match,Rahmanullah Gurbaz :

Of course disappointed with the result. But it happens. We were short 25 runs. Just tried to play my natural game and be positive. He (Trott) works so hard with us. So happy with him. We will take it from here to the World Cup as well.