SL VS AFG 1ST ODI

Right then, that is it from this game. Afghanistan take a 1-0 lead in the series and the Lankans will be eager to get back to level terms in the next game. The 2nd ODI will be played on 4th June, Sunday at 10 am IST (4.30 am GMT), but as you know you can join us early for all the build-up. Until then, Cheers and Goodbye!

Hashmatullah Shahidi, the victorious skipper of Afghanistan says that it feels really well to end up on the winning side and the team performed really well. He adds that after early wickets DDS and Asalanka batted well but the team recovered well and broke the partnership when it was needed the most.  He adds that the bowlers were really good today and the bowling at depth overs was crucial in restricting the opponents to such a total. He also adds that Ibrahim Zadran is a match-winner and the team has the utmost confidence in him, so it feels happy that he is rewarded for his hard work and the team won.

Dasun Shanaka, the captain of Sri Lanka says that the plan was to play positive cricket but to lose four wicket upfront was not ideal. Adds that this wicket played very well and a total of 300 or more would have been par here. Tells that he feels they could have got more runs and bowled well too but the injury of Lahiru Kumara was a setback. Mentions that Matheesha Pathirana is coming from the Indian T20 League to international cricket which is not an easy task but they will stick with him as they want to have a look at him before the qualifiers. Ends by saying that they need to win games but the qualifiers are important and that they will rotate the bowlers in this series.

Ibrahim Zadran is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his brilliant knock. He says missing out on a century in such a manner is really hard but happy for the victory of the team. He also adds that the credit must go to the bowlers as the bowlers did brilliantly to restrict Sri Lanka below 300. He also adds that 269 was a good score but not that massive and his partnership with Rahmat Shah made the target an easy task. He adds that he and Rahmat Shah planned the situation well and the main motto was to keep rotating the strike and not go out blistering on every delivery but play everything on its merit.

Presentation Time...

Earlier in the game, after being put to bat first, Sri Lanka also did not get the perfect start but the fifties from DDS and Charith Asalanka along with contributions from Pathum Nissanka and Dushan Hemantha got them to a decent total but they know they could have got more. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Fareed Ahmad were the standouts for Afghanistan with two wickets each. In reply, the visitors made this chase look like a cakewalk for the most part of it. The partnership between Rahmat Shah and Ibrahim Zadran took the game away from the Lankans and they never really looked like a threat to the Afghans.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, looked good as their pacers got some movement up from and troubled the batters. Lahiru Kumara got them the early breakthrough as well but just could not build on that and allowed the Afghans to take full control of the game. They suffered another setback when Kumara left the field due to a niggle after bowling just 4.3 overs which forced them to change their plans a bit. Also, Matheesha Pathirana would want to forget this debut even though he got a wicket as he struggled with his lines very much and gave a bit too many. Kasun Rajitha did manage to send the set Ibrahim Zadran back to the but it was too little too late for the hosts. He picked up another wicket and was their best bowler but they gave away too many extras which also was a big factor in this game.

Afghanistan started off a bit slow and the dot balls crept up to Rahmanullah Gurbaz as he lost his wicket trying to be aggressive. However, after that, it was all about Afghanistan in this game. Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah started to build a partnership and they targeted debutant Matheesha Pathirana and scored 17 runs in his second over and never looked back since. Zadran was the aggressor and he continued to rack up the runs while Shah provided him with solid support from the other end. They put on a 146-run stand but unfortunately, Zadran missed out on his well-deserved century by just two runs. After that Shah also notched up his half-century and along with the skipper, Hashmatullah Shahidi took them near victory. Shah and Shahidi fell but Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zadran finished off the game with many balls to spare.

A very comfortable victory for Afghanistan! This is also their second-highest successful chase in ODI cricket. They were in control of this match for the most part and thoroughly deserves to go 1-0 up in this three-match series.

Short and wide of off, Najibullah Zadran smashes this towards backward point for a single as the visitors achieve what was need to win this game.

FOUR! Short and wide of off, Najibullah Zadran lofts this over the point fielder for a boundary. The visitors need just 1 run to win.

Yorker on off, Mohammad Nabi pushes this to sweeper cover for a single.

FOUR! Nice shot! This is full and on off, Mohammad Nabi opens the face of the bat late and steers it wide of third man for a boundary. Afghanistan one big hit away from the win now.

A low full toss, on off, Najibullah Zadran forces it towards covers for a single.

FOUR! A pressure-releasing shot! This is short again, outside off, Mohammad Nabi this time hops up a bit and cuts it over point for a boundary.

Kasun Rajitha bangs this short again, on middle, Mohammad Nabi looks to pull but gets hurried and the ball hits his helmet. The physio is in for the mandatory concussion check but Nabi seems okay to continue.

Fuller and on off, Najibullah Zadran taps it wide of point for a single.