Hasaranga heroics has Sri Lanka well placed against Afghanistan

Star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga picked up three wickets as Sri Lanka restricted Afghanistan to a modest total in their ICC Men’s World Cup match in Brisbane on Tuesday.

Hasaranga collected figures of 3/13 from four tidy overs and was Pivotal in the field with an excellent outfield catch as Afghanistan were restricted to 144/8 in good batting conditions at The Gabba.

The Sri Lanka star claimed the key wicket of Usman Ghani (27) early and then returned at the death to claim the scalp of fellow spinner Rashid Khan (9) in a superb individual display.

Ghani and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (28) had given Afghanistan a strong start by putting on 42 for the opening wicket, until Hasaranga’s timely intervention following the batting Powerplay.

Veteran batter Gulbadin Naib was run out in comical circumstances as he rolled towards the crease without his bat, as Afghanistan’s middle-order failed to build on the good start provided by their openers.

The equation is pretty simple for Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, with a victory crucial to stay alive in the race for a semi-final berth.

They are Occupying the bottom two spots in Group 1 with just two points to their names and, with both Australia and New Zealand having made their way to five points already, they will need to win both of their remaining Encounters to stay alive in the semi – final race.

But only one team can emerge victorious from this contest, which means the losing team will be out of the final four races completely.

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Usman Ghani, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Pramod Madsushan, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha