(Cricket News) In the last Twenty20 International in Dambulla on Wednesday (February 21), fireworks from Rahmanullah Gurbaz (70 off 43) and Hazratullah Zazai (45 off 22) guided Afghanistan to a huge total that ultimately proved just enough for a three-win against Sri Lanka. In a thrilling conclusion, Pathum Nissanka (60 off 30) and Kamindu Mendis (65* off 39) gave it their all for the hosts, but they were heartbreakingly unable to reach the goal.
Afghanistan chose to bat and their openers gave them the ideal start on what was undoubtedly the best batting surface of the series. Gurbaz was the first to act aggressively because he had his magic right away. It took Zazai some time to unleash his own barrage of devastating blows. With a combined score of 72 off the powerplay, Sri Lanka was severely handicapped.
Zazai and Gurbaz were gaining momentum, and Sri Lanka needed something to stop them. This was accomplished by Akila Dananjaya, who got the left-hander LBW. It signaled the beginning of a play where the scoring pace somewhat decreased. The crucial breakthrough for Gurbaz was made by Sri Lankan skipper Wanindu Hasaranga, while Dananjaya removed Zadran to slow down the innings.
When Afghanistan’s openers were hitting for maximum scores, the middle overs slump threatened to end their innings on a much lower note. But in the last over, youthful Mohammad Ishaq delivered a couple of knocks and Azmatullah Omarzai (31 off 23) made some big shots to push the score well over 200 runs. At the end, Sri Lankan bowlers gave out a few freebies, most notably Matheesha Pathirana, who sprayed the ball and gave up too many wides.
As he had throughout the ODIs and T20Is, the in-form Nissanka got going, setting the ideal pace for Sri Lanka’s chase. Throughout his tenure, Kusal Mendis was erratic and took a backseat to Nissanka, who dominated the powerplay, which resulted in 64 for the home team.
At the tail end of that period, Mendis fell, and not too long after, Kusal Perera died for a duck. However, Nissanka continued to practice his shots and appeared menacing. Sharafuddin Ashraf hurt himself while taking the catch of Mendis, which dealt a blow to Afghanistan. Qais Ahmad replaced the injured player.
Nissanka had to retire hurt as he gripped his hamstring in pain shortly after playing a slog-sweep for six. It was the right decision, with the series already decided and the World Cup in a few months.
However, it was a major setback for Sri Lanka in the context of this match, and it allowed Afghanistan to exert pressure. They succeeded in doing so and also took wickets, including the significant one of Hasaranga.
Afghanistan believed they would easily win the match, but Kamindu and Samarawickrama took advantage of the batting-friendly ground by getting down and dirty in the bowling. The needed rate persisted to be high, and Kamindu persisted despite Samarawickrama giving in to the pressure of the pursuit.
He witnessed two of Sri Lanka’s more experienced players, Dasun Shanaka (who did deliver a few clutch blows) and Angelo Mathews, go down but he persevered, nearly saving the match for Sri Lanka.
In order to defeat Wafadar Momand, Sri Lanka needed to win by 19 runs in the last over. To get the equation to 11 needed off 3, Kamindu discovered the fence off the first and third balls with a dot in between.
At this point, Wafadar bowled a sort of beamer; it was obviously a waist-high no ball, but the two on-field umpires did not seem to think so. Even though Kamindu had taken a small step back, it still appeared to be a no-ball. That ultimately proved to be crucial to the outcome, as Kamindu smashed the last ball for a six, a shot that was insignificant because Sri Lanka was just barely defeated.
See more: Mitchell Marsh and Tim David Lead Australia to 6-Wicket Victory.
