ICC World Cup 2019: Match 7, AFG v SL – Sri Lanka Player Ratings

Dimuth Karunaratne influenced this game more with his captaincy and fielding than with the bat. He was excellent with his bowling changes and set aggressive fields consistently despite defending only a small total. The skipper ever ran the dangerous Najibullah Zadran out and scored 30 runs with the bat.

Kusal Perera – 9/10

Kusal Perera did a bulk of the scoring for his team in this game. He is so pleasing to the eye when he plays his best cricket. The left-hander attacked the bowlers and added 78 runs in only 81 balls. He hit 8 great boundaries during his knock. He took one catch behind the stumps.

Lahiru Thirimanne – 4/10

Compared to some of the other players in the team, Lahiru Thirimanne‘s performance was far better. He scored 25 runs from 34 balls before Mohammad Nabi disturbed his timber.

Kusal Mendis – 1/10

Kusal Mendis didn’t play sensible cricket after losing a wicket. He edged the ball twice in two balls and ended up being unlucky the second time. He only managed to score 2 runs with the bat.

Angelo Mathews – 0/10

Being the senior player in the squad, Angelo Mathews was expected to handle the pressure after losing some quick wickets. However, he also succumbed at a crucial juncture and perished for a blob. This is his second consecutive duck in the tournament. He failed to judge the pace of the ball and looked sheepish when he played that cut shot in the game.

Dhananjaya de Silva – 0/10

Dhananjaya de Silva also bagged a duck in this game and failed to live up to the expectations. He bowled one over in the match where he conceded 7 runs and didn’t have much influence on the result of this game.

Thisara Perera – 2.5/10

Thisara Perera was sold down the river by Kusal Perera in this game. There seemed to be a serious communication gap between these two and he was run out after scoring just 2 runs. Since there were a lot of overs left, Thisara should have taken it easy with his running. But with the ball, he dismissed the dangerous Mohammad Nabi and conceded just 19 runs in his 4 overs.

Isuru Udana – 4/10

Isuru Udana scored 10 runs with the bat. Even though a small contribution, it did make a difference when things boiled down at the end. He picked up the wicket of Rahmat Shah with the ball and gave away just 28 in his 6 overs.

Suranga Lakmal – 3.5/10

Suranga Lakmal scored a handy 13-ball 15 towards the end with the bat. But with the ball, he failed to get amongst the wickets in the six overs that he bowled.

Lasith Malinga – 7/10

Lasith Malinga brought the first breakthrough of the second innings by dismissing Mohammad Shahzad for 7. He came back later and finished the game for his team by dismissing the final two batsmen.

Nuwan Pradeep – 9.5/10

Nuwan Pradeep had the most important role to play in this victory. It is quite surprising that he didn’t play in the last game. The 32-year-old picked up four wickets and broke through the middle order of Afghanistan. The team could never manage to recover from this blow. In his 9 overs, he just gave away 31 runs.