De Silva and Hasaranga keep Lankan hopes alive

Man of the match Wanindu Hasaranga who took 3 for 13 and didn’t concede a single 4 with Lahiru Kumara who took 2 for 30 celebrate a dismissal of Afghanistan during their contest yesterday at The Gabba on 1, 1 November 2022 in Brisbane 

• Beat Afghanistan in must-win game

Sri Lanka’s Dhananjaya de Silva celebrates reaching his half century (50 runs) during the ICC men’s Twenty20 World Cup 2022 cricket match between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka at The Gabba 1, on 1 November 2022 in Brisbane – AFP

BRISBANE: A master-class batting performance from Dhananjaya de Silva and a skilful bowling performance from Wanindu Hasaranga saw Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan by six wickets in a crucial Group 1 game and keep their hopes of qualifying for a place in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup alive at the Gabba yesterday.  

After the battering he took from Australia, Hasaranga showed why he is considered to be one of the best T20I bowlers in the world when he came back strongly to take the Player of the Match award with figures of 3 for 13 off four overs. The energy and intensity he displayed on the field rubbed on the rest of the team as Sri Lanka conceded only three boundaries in the last five overs to keep Afghanistan down to a total of 144-8. At the halfway stage, Afghanistan were 68-1, but couldn’t really finish off on a high as Hasaranga and Lahiru Kumara applied the brakes on their batting, despite not getting the support they needed on the field, with a couple of chances going abegging. Sri Lanka’s bowling in the last five overs was excellent and they paced out the run chase perfectly with De Silva playing a master class innings of 66* off 42 balls that included six fours and two sixes.

At one time, De Silva was not even a contender for a place in the T20 team, but poor form and injuries to other batters saw him being drafted into the side to fill that crucial number three slot. He held the Sri Lankan batting together in partnerships of 34, 54 and 42 with Kusal Mendis (25), Charith Asalanka (19) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (18) to see his team home safely in an elegant display of batting that had fluency written all over it. It was an excellent knock under pressure in a must win situation.

The Lanka batters handled the bowling of Afghanistan’s key spinner Rashid Khan very well although he managed to pick up two wickets.  “Whenever we’ve had a good opening stand or someone taking responsibility from the top to move on, we’ve done well,” said assistant coach Naveed Nawaz. “The plan was to lose less wickets in the first 10 overs and to look at opportunities and have partnerships going. We knew we were chasing 145 which is not a big total and should always get there.”

“It’s a relief that Dhananjaya is coming into the runs. He’s always shown potential with scores of 30s and 40s but it’s good to see him finishing a game, which is a good sign for us.” It was De Silva’s first fifty in a T20I since January 2020 and his highest in 32 matches.

The loss put Afghanistan out of the competition with only two points and one match to play. Afghanistan came to this game without being in action for ten days following total washouts against New Zealand and Ireland, and they were never quite able to get their momentum going.  

Sri Lanka picked up two crucial points to take their tally to four from four matches to be placed fourth. England’s win over New Zealand yesterday in the second double-header at the Gabba, saw them move to second place behind New Zealand in the Group 1 table with Australia in third place. New Zealand, England and Australia all of five points each after four matches, but in Australia’s case their net run rate is till minus. 

Sri Lanka will need to win against England in their final game on Saturday to have any hope of qualifying for a semi-final place. Their fate also lies on how New Zealand, Australia and England fare in their final group matches.    

“We’ve got to go with all guns blazing against England to have any outside chance of qualifying for the semi-finals. We need to secure a big win taking whatever chances or risks that we need to take to get there,” said Nawaz.