Afghanistan demonstrated their batting strength in the World Cup, securing their third victory by defeating Sri Lanka by seven wickets. Fueled by half-centuries from Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, and Azmatullah Omarzai, they easily chased down Sri Lanka’s 241 runs.
Left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi’s four-wicket haul was crucial in limiting Sri Lanka. Despite Pathum Nissanka’s 46, contributions from Angelo Mathews and Maheesh Theekshana fell short.
Afghanistan’s batting prowess has been a standout, winning three of six matches. Their dominant chases against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, losing only five wickets and scoring 528 runs, highlight their batting dominance.
Fazalhaq Farooqi, named Player of the Match and speaking through Rashid Khan’s translation, expressed gratitude to the Almighty for Afghanistan’s third win in the tournament. He emphasized keeping it simple, focusing on hitting the right areas, and avoiding boundaries, which led to his success. Farooqi mentioned the team’s efforts in addressing issues from previous matches, working hard in the nets on accuracy and variations, and applying these learnings effectively in the game.
Thanks to the Almighty, nice to have 3 wins in the tournament, happy to have contributed to the team win. I was looking for swing with the new ball, but I didn’t get it, so I just kept it simple, hit the right areas, didn’t want to concede boundaries and that’s how I succeeded. We conceded too many runs in the last few overs (in the previous matches), we put in the hard yards in the nets, bowling with accuracy and trying out as many variations as possible. That’s exactly what we went out and did in the match today.
