Sri Lanka v Afghanistan World T20: 5 Talking Points of the match

The defending champions Sri Lanka locked horns with the new kids on the blocks, Afghanistan, at the Eden Gardens. While Afghanistan entered the match riding on good performances in the qualifying rounds, Sri Lanka were short on confidence, having lost 8 of their last 10 T20Is.

Afghanistan got to a slow start after losing their star batsman ShahzadMohammadi. Not much was put on the board as the Afghan side could manage just 47 runs in the first 10 overs. But it was the next 10 that reaped heavy runs for Afghanistan. Skipper Stanikzai led from the front with 62 off just 47 balls. SamiullahShenwari made a quickfire 31 (14) to accelerate the innings. Some late blows by NajibZadran in the last over ensured a decent score of 153/7 on the board.

Sri Lanka got off to a flying start with openers Chandimal and Dilshan starting off aggressively. They were rocked back by two quick wickets of Chandimal and Thirimanne. Dilshan marshalled around to bring up his half-century in 37 balls. He didn’t stop then and finished the job in hand, hitting 83 runs. Skipper Angelo Mathews broke the shackles created by Afghanistan in the middle overs to help his side win by 6 wickets.

1. Sluggish Start by Afghanistan

Having won the toss, Afghanistan skipper took no time to elect to bat first to make the most of the conditions. However, things didn’t turn out to be the way they had expected. Sri Lankan bowlers Angelo Mathews and NuwanKulasekara gave nothing away as the Afghan openers struggled. ShahzadMohammadi, the only player from Associate nations with a T20I century, found it tough and was dismissed on 8 off 12 in the 3^rd over. Noor Ali tried to hit a few over the ropes but Afghanistan crawled slowly to 47 run mark at the halfway stage of the innings.

2. Stanikzai leading from the front and late hitting

While the first 10 overs yielded just 47 runs, the next 10 saw 106 coming. It was the skipper AsgharStanikzai who led the charge. He was keenly supported by Noor Ali (20). After the dismissal of Noor Ali, Stanikzai found able support in the form of Shenwari, who took no time up the ante and put up 31 runs in just 14 balls. Sadiq and Nabi went cheaply but yet again Stanikzai proved to be the mainstay of the middle order. Stanikzai completed his half century and went on to score 62 off 47 balls before getting dismissed in the penultimate over. His innings boasted of 3 fours and 4 maximums.Najib hit 12 off 3 balls in the last over to propel the score to 153/7 at the end of 20 overs.

3. Flying Start by the Lankans

Sri Lanka were set a modest target of 153 and the openers Chandimal and Dilshan cleared their intentions straight away. Chandimal hit KarimSadiq for a six and a four in the very first over to start the proceedings. Dilshan clobbered DawlatZadran for a flat six to announce his arrival at the crease. Clearly, the Lankan top order finally clicked after a string of poor performances in the Asia Cup and Warm-up matches recently. Chandimal was dismissed on 18 off 17 balls by Nabi in the last over of the powerplay. Dilshan continued his onslaught from the other end and brought up his half-century.

4. Afghan Spin-Strangle and Mathews’ Counter Attack

The game was slipping away with Sri Lanka openers taking a toll on the Afghan pacers. It was Mohammad Nabi’s off-spin that got rid of Chandimal. Soon Rashid Khan got the wicket of Thirimanne with his leg break. While the first 5 overs yielded 40 runs, the next 8 overs belonged to the Afghanistan spinners who put a block on the run scoring. The game looked tight. Had it not been Dilshan hitting Lanka’s way out of the spin-strangle, the game was as good as gone for Sri Lanka. He was aptly supported by Mathews, who played a blinder of an innings, hitting 21 off just 10 balls to take the game away from Afghanistan.

5. Dilshan’s Resistance

While Sri Lanka lost wickets in the middle overs, it was the veteran right-handed batsman Dilshan, who kept his cool. Interestingly, prior to this match, Dilshan had scored two ducks in the two warm up games. Coming into the match under such pressure, Dilshan provided stiff resistance and was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s chase. Some pressure was taken off him by skipper Angelo Mathews who hit balls at will to ease the run-chase. Dilshan continued along, mixing caution with aggression, to end up with 83 off mere 56 deliveries. His knock was embellished with 8 fours and 3 maximums. Surely this knock from him would have lifted the spirits of the entire Sri Lankan unit. He hit the winning runs as Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets.