Asia Cup 2022: Five talking points from Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan tournament opener – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Afghanistan cruised to an emphatic eight-wicket win against Sri Lanka in their 100^th T20I at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday, chasing a below-par total of 105 after winning the toss and asking their opponents to bat first.

Sri Lanka could never get going with the bat as Afghan bowlers kept dismissing the batters like blowing off a heap of cards, barring Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who was the only batter to show some resistance.

Out to chase, the openers thrashed the Lankan bowlers to all parts of the ground and there was no competition between the bat and the ball in the second innings.

Afghanistan have also done a favour to themselves, registering an NRR of 5.176, making sure to have an upper hand in case the teams tie on the points table.

Here are five talking points from the tournament opener:

Afghanistan’s brilliant bowling

Afghanistan bowled their hearts out to start the tournament and humbled the Sri Lanka batting line-up as they were never able to get going. The usually spin-powerful Afghanistan bowling witnessed a change as the fast bowlers plumbed the batters at the start of the innings.

In the very first over, Fazalhaq Farooqi bagged two wickets, while Naveen-Ul-Haq took a wicket in the second over.

The seamers also read the conditions very nicely and slowed their pace, seeking more help from the pitch.

The spinners came in subsequently and kept up the pressure picking up more wickets. And though Rashid Khan went wicket-less, he was brilliant with the ball, bowling at an economy of just three runs per over, which was the joint best alongside Farooqi.

Sri Lanka’s batting collapse

Afghanistan’s outstanding bowling was synchronous to Sri Lanka’s batting collapse. The top order collapsed miserably and the middle order as well wasn’t able to recover from the collapse. Only three batters were able to score in double digits and none of the others were able to score more than five runs.

Sri Lanka have been good with the bat in recent times, but a defeat in this match will put a lot of pressure as one more loss will push them out of the Asia Cup.

A couple of unwarranted run-outs as well hampered the flow of runs as well-settled Rajapaksa too lost his wicket to a poor call for a single.

The think tank might want to tinker with the combinations and give veteran Dinesh Chandimal an opportunity in the next match against Bangladesh.

 Umpiring decision controversies

While Afghanistan bowled excellently, a supposedly umpiring mishap did put a break on the already crawling Sri Lanka batting.

In the second over, Naveen-Ul-Haq bowled a good length delivery outside the off stump to Patthum Nissanka. Umpire Anil Chaudhary raised his finger as the bowler questioned – for an edge and caught behind – with utmost confidence.

Nissanka asked for a review after being shocked at the decision. The replays showed just a feather-like murmur on the UltraEdge and not a spike. The third umpire, however, seconded the on-field umpire’s decision.

The head coach Chris Silverwood was also stunned by the decision and expressed his dismay from the dressing room.

Another howler happened on the last delivery of the seventh over when a delivery drifting down the leg side was appealed for the wicket for Rajapaksa. Afghanistan reviewed after the umpire didn’t entertain the appeal and signaled it a wide delivery.

The TV umpire sustained the on-field decision, however, no additional delivery was bowled despite it being signaled a wide.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa continues his IPL form

While the batters collapsed at one end, Bhanuka Rajapaksa continued his scintillating form from the IPL and smashed bowlers to different parts of the ground. For a while, it seemed that he would steady the batting and take the team to a respectable total.

He hit four back-to-back boundaries in the last powerplay over and brought some smiles to the Lankan dressing room. However, a poor run-out call ensured his downfall and also ensured that Sri Lanka’s batting cannot be revived.

Afghanistan opening partnership

After Sri Lanka were bundled out for a humble total, Afghan openers took it upto themselves and registered a partnership of 83 runs within the powerplay itself. While Rahmanullah Gurbaz was dismissed, Sri Lanka were already blown out of the match.

Interestingly, Gurbaz took the lead with the bat against Hazratullah Zazai who is generally known to start the fireworks at the beginning of the innings.

Afghanistan sealed the match within 10 overs, courtesy of their openers, and did a huge favour to their Net Run Rate.

With a win pocketed in the first match, and having powered their NRR to 5.176, they already have their one foot in the Super 4s.

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