5 reasons for Afghanistan's upset win over Sri Lanka
The first upset of Asia Cup 2018 has come in the third match of the tournament when Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka by a huge margin of 91 runs to end Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup campaign abruptly. Perhaps Afghanistan might have done a great favour to India and Pakistan by knocking Sri Lanka out of the Asia Cup.
This article is about the 5 reasons behind Afghanistan’s upset win.
#1 Winning the toss
After their chasing debacle in the first match against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka desperately wanted to win the toss and bat first. But it was the Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan who won the toss and took the correction decision to bat first. Afghanistan wanted to put runs on the board and then squeeze the Sri Lankan batsmen through their spinners. For once, the toss favoured the underdogs.
#2 The batsmen clicked for Afghanistan
It was one thing to win the toss and do what you wanted to do and totally another to do that perfectly. Afghanistan made use of the opportunity to bat first and put runs on the board. The opening batsmen put on 57 runs for the first wicket. Mohammad Shahzad was in his usual aggressive mood hitting four 4s and one six in his quickfire 34.
The other opener Ihsanullah scored 45. But Afghanistan’s star performer was Rahmat Shah who scored a brilliant 72 off 90 balls. With the help of Shahidi’s 37 and some lusty hitting from the tail, Afghanistan reached 249. A winning target of 250 proved too much for Sri Lanka in the end. The Afghanistan batsmen should be first complimented for their performance.
#3 Afghanistan’s spin bowling trio was outstanding
The Afghan spin trio of Mujeeb ur Rahman, Rashid Khan, and Mohammad Nabi was simply outstanding in tightening the noose against the Sri Lankan batsmen. Mujeeb struck in the very first over removing the dangerous Mendis for a duck. The presence of so many left-handers in the Sri Lankan batting line up did not help their cause against two quality off-spinners in Mujeeb and Nabi.
Rashid Khan gave the vital breakthrough by removing Kusal Perera. All the three spinners got two wickets apiece. Their wicket-to-wicket bowling put a lot of pressure on the Sri Lankan batsmen resulting in the poor shot selection and horrible running between the wickets. The three spinners were the heroes for Afghanistan.
#4 Afghanistan’s exceptional fielding
The exceptional fielding of Afghanistan has resulted in two run-outs. The young Afghan fielders were energetic and put their body on the line to save runs. The run-out of Dhananjaya de Silva was the turning point as he was having a fruitful partnership of 54 runs with Tharanga for the second wicket.
Rashid Khan was everywhere in the field and was involved in the second run-out of Shehan Jayasuriya. The crazy running between the wickets by the Sri Lankan batsmen helped Afghanistan's cause. In the first run out of Dhananjaya de Silva, both the batsmen were almost at the same end to spell disaster.
#5 Reckless shots played by the Sri Lankan batsmen
Tharanga and Angelo Mathews were guilty of throwing away their wickets when well settled. Tharanga played a poor shot immediately after the run-out of Dhananjaya de Silva. Perhaps the run-out might have played on his mind. Angelo Mathews, after being involved in a horrible mix up with Shehan Jayasuriya, resulting in the run-out of the latter, threw his wicket away going for a big hit. Before that, Kusal Perera tried an almighty hoick off Rashid Khan's full pitch delivery in his very first over and was cleaned up. These three reckless shots by the three top order batsmen spelled disaster for Sri Lanka.
Congratulations to Afghanistan for reaching the super 4s at the cost of Sri Lanka. India and Pakistan must have felt a sigh of relief that Afghanistan is not in their group. It remains to be seen whether Afghanistan’s giant-killing act will continue in the super 4s. Meanwhile, hats off to Afghanistan for their spirited performance.