Afghanistan managed to keep their hopes alive in the ongoing ODI World Cup after defeating Sri Lanka by seven wickets.
The Lankan Lions did a good job in the start when they batted first, but their strike rate has been a big problem from the beginning. As a result, pressure mounted on them when they lost a few wickets, and finally the batting unit broke. Maheesh Theekshana played brilliantly towards the end, scoring 29 runs to assist Sri Lanka reach 241 runs, which was looking impossible at one point.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz was dismissed cheaply during the chase, but other players rose up. After Rahmat Shah was dismissed, captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatuallah Omarzai combined for a partnership of more than 100 runs to win the team. Rahmat Shah had scored fifty runs. As a result, Afghanistan has six points in the ODI World Cup, putting Sri Lanka in a difficult situation.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 241 in 49.3 overs (Pathum Nissanka 46; Fazalhaq Farooqi 4/34, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2/38) lost to Afghanistan 242/3 in 45.2 overs (Azmatullah Omarzai 73*, Rahmat Shah 62; Dilshan Madushanka 2/48) by 7 wickets