Twitter Reactions: Audacious Afghanistan knock lifeless Lanka out of Asia Cup

After their indifferent performance against Bangladesh the other night in Dubai, Sri Lanka were in requisite of a win in order for them to stay afloat in the 2018 Asia Cup. However, they were unable to get their act together and slumped to another defeat, this time to Afghanistan, by 91 runs in Abu Dhabi. Asghar Afghan and Co were clinical and outplayed their opponents in all departments.

Rahmat Shah guides the Afghans

Bearing in mind the advantage of the team batting first, Afghanistan elected to bat first and got off to a blistering start. Mohammad Shahzad and Ihsanullah Janat put on a stand of 57 runs from 60 balls. The first wicket came in the form of Shahzad, who flayed the willow with all his might. Thereafter, Janat and Rahmat Shah put their heads down for a 45-run partnership.

The skipper couldn’t make an impact, but Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi cobbled together 80 runs to put Afghanistan in a position of command. Shah scored 72 runs from 90 deliveries and eventually fell prey to speedster Dushmantha Chameera. In the end, fast-bowler Thisara Perera’s five-wicket haul restricted the Afghans to 249 in their 50 overs.

Lanka crash out

The Lankan run-chase was nothing short of shambolic. Kusal Mendis perished for a duck for the second time in two matches. Dhananjaya de Silva and Upul Tharanga put together 54 runs to restore sanity in their innings. The stand was broken by a horrendous mix-up between the batters, which led to the run out of de Silva. Kusal Perera and Tharanga took charge thereafter.

Just when the partnership threatened to take the match away from Afghanistan, Rashid Khan struck in his very first over. Tharanga succumbed to Gulbadin Naib and thereafter the writing was on the walls for Angelo Mathews and Co. Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naib, Mohammad Nabi, and Rashid Khan chipped in with a couple of wickets each to take their team to the Super 4 of the event.

Here is how Twitter reacted

The defending champions India are yet to begin their #AsiaCup campaign and one team is already on their flight back home. And I am not talking about Hong Kong here.

— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) September 17, 2018

Five time champions Sri Lanka are out of the #AsiaCup2018 even before one of the participating side (India) have played their first match. This is quite a unique situation in an international tournament!#AsiaCup#SLvAFG #AFGvSL

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) September 17, 2018

Sri Lanka out even before India plays their first game 😂😂😂😂

— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) September 17, 2018

Go home Lanka, you're drunk…. #asiacup

— Innocent Bystander (@InnoBystander) September 17, 2018

Afghanistan last 8 ODIs:
Won 7
Lost 1#AsiaCup2018 #AFGvSL

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) September 17, 2018

Has Sri Lanka sent in their resignation to the @icc #AsiaCup #SLvAfg

— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) September 17, 2018

Mass suicide by Sri Lanka: poorly thought out run chase, unforgivable run outs, terrible strokes. Nothing to take away from Afghanistan though. Grit in batting and marvellous bowling #AsiaCup

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) September 17, 2018

Amazing achievement by @ACBofficials. Such a rapid rise in the limited overs format. High quality spinners in @rashidkhan_19 , Nabi and Mujeeb. If the batsmen score enough runs most teams will struggle against this trio!! Congrats and many more to come!!

— Gaurav Sundararaman (@gaurav_sundar) September 17, 2018

So much admiration for what Afghanistan are doing. They controlled this game from the beginning.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 17, 2018

#BringBackRanatunga

— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) September 17, 2018

Pak and India will have to be on their mettle in the Super 4s or else Afghan could surprise them with their bowling strength on wickets that suit… #asiacup

— Innocent Bystander (@InnoBystander) September 17, 2018

Oh Sri Lanka! Finding ways of getting out and slipping from promising situations. You have to be better than this. With such a heritage, there have to be enough good players around.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 17, 2018

Afghanistan beating Srilanka is definitely not an upset for me but indeed a big win in terms of the quantum. #AFGvSL #AsiaCup2018 https://t.co/XNqAhOcInJ

— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7) September 17, 2018

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