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Sri Lanka have kept themselves alive in the race to the semifinals of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 after a six-wicket victory against Afghanistan at The Gabba in Brisbane on Tuesday.
Chasing the paltry target of 145, Dhananjaya de Silva shined with the bat fo♏r the Islanders, helping his side finish the proceedings in 18.3 overs with six wickets in hand. De Silva played an unbeaten knock ꧒of 66 from just 42 deliveries, with the help of six fours and a couple of sixes.
Rashid Khan (2/31) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/24) did pick two wickets each to ke𒊎ep ♚Afghanistan in the game but the low-total wasn’t enough to put extra pressure on the Lankans.
Earlier, Afghanistan top order started well but Sri Lanka bowlers came back and restricted the Mohammad Nabi-led side to 144/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Wanindu Hasaranga was the🧸 star with the ball, taking a brilliant three-wic🍰ket haul while conceding only 13 runs in his quota of 4 overs.
Apart from the leg-spinner, pacer Lahiru Kumara also contributed well with a couple of wickets for 30 in 4 overs. For Afghanistan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (28 off 24) and Usman Ghani (27 of 27) were the top scorers.
“We lost last two games against Australia and New Zealand. We had to play our best game. I am really happy. Last game also I thought Zampa bowled well. I tried to vary my pace here. Perth was very good for the batters. I had gone for a few runs against Australia. But I knew I will bounce back. I had the support of big boundaries here,” said Hasaranga the post-match presentation.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
⭐ A batting masterclass from DDS!
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC)
Sri Lanka live to fight anothe🧔r day and knock Afghanistan out of the semi-final race. | 📝:
Head to our app and webs😼ite to follow the action 👉
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup)
Great game keeping us alive still in the comp 👏👏 let’s win the next one and control what we can �🧸�👏
— Angelo Mathews (@Angelo69Mathews)
A massive win for Sri Lanka against Afghanistan, they keep their hopes alive in the tournament. They would now want New Zealand to win the next match against England, it's a must-win match for England too. Such a competitive group this. Huge match coming up now!
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan)
“Royal Challenger, he’s a ROYAL CHALLEﷺNGER!” 🤙
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets)
Sri Lanka knocks Afghanistan out of the tournament.
Scorecard:— betvisa68.com (@CricketTimesHQ)
What a spell by Wanindu Hasaranga – 3/13 in 4 overs. Yet another top class work done by Hasaranga!
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra)
Great w🤪in for Sri Lanka against Afghanistan at the Gabba. Dhananjaya de Silva with a great knock under pressure with good cameos from the rest. Bowling was great however fielding has been abysmal
— Joshua Samaraweera (@joshsamaraweera)
What a knock by Dhananjaya de Silva, He scored a match w꧂inning knock of 66(42)*, Under-pressure in a must win game, Well played.
— Re𝕏anth (@141ovalclassic)
Well played, ! 💙💙💙
Hasaranga and DDS🙌🏻— Lazeenah (@LazeenahS)
