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Sri Lanka has survived a massive scare against Afghanistan to record their first victory of the 2015 World Cup by 4 wickets.
In a must win match for the Lions, their experience was enough, as they completed a difficult chase of 233 for victory.
A century to Mahela Jayawardene, and a quick fire 47 from Thisara Perera, saved Sri Lanka from an embarrassing defeat and an early elimination from the tournament.
For Perera, he was the only change from the side that lost to New Zealand, in the first match of the tournament.
He would replace Nuwan Kulasekara.
At the toss, Sri Lanka won it, and sent Afghanistan in to bat in overcast and cold conditions.
The Lankans were hoping to get early wickets, and put the minnows under pressure, as the ball swung around in the early stages of the match.
Sri Lanka were in for a surprise though as Afghanistan started well.
They put 34 on for the first partnership as Mangal and Ahmadi made 10 and 24 respectively.
When both fell, with the score at 34 and 40 respectively, Afghanistan rebuilt with Stanikzai and Shenwari.
These two would combine for an 88 run partnership with Stanikzai making his 5th ODI century.
When Stanikzai lost his wicket for 54, as he tried to lift the run-rate, Afghanistan struggled as their middle order got exposed.
They would lose three wickets for the additions of eighteen runs as they went to 6/175 at the start of the 39th over.
Some late order hitting from Ashraf – who made 28 – and Zazai (19) gave Afghanistan a competitive total of 232.
It could have been more if the middle order utilised the powerplay during overs 36 to 40.
This would come back to bite Afghanistan as Sri Lanka started their run chase poorly and were able to limp home.
The Associate team got a dream start as Dawlat Zadran trapped Thirimanne in front of the stumps with the first ball of the innings.
Afghanistan then made it two wickets in two overs as Shapoor Zadran bowled a great ball to Dilshan who edged it to the wicket keeper.
When Sangakkara fell to Hassan in the 6th over for 7, Afghanistan had Sri Lanka at 3/18, and an upset was in the air.
Up stepped Mahela Jayawardene who controlled the innings, made a century, and took the match away from Afghanistan.
While it wasn’t a high strike rate knock, Jayawardene made sure the runs flowed, and Sri Lanka kept the scoreboard ticking.
He and Mathews combined for a 126 run stand to put Sri Lanka in a prime position to win the match.
Afghanistan then ran out Mathews and took the vital wicket of Jayawardene to leave Sri Lanka needing 55 from 52 deliveries.
Just when Afghanistan looked good to cause the upset, after taking those two wickets, Perera stepped up.
Six boundaries and one six in his 47 runs guided Sri Lanka home for a valuable win.
In the end, their experience shone through, and they handled the pressure better than Afghanistan.
While the minnows bowled exceptionally well, they struggled in the middle overs with the bat, to lose the match.
They will now take plenty of confidence from the narrow loss and try to win their first match of the World Cup when they take on Scotland on Thursday.
As for Sri Lanka they now travel to Australia and face another must win clash against Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka will be looking for their first win of the 2015 World Cup when they take on Afghanistan at Dunedin. Join The Roar from 8:30am AEDT for live coverage of this match.
Last Wednesday was a historic day for Afghanistan as they made their debut in the World Cup against Bangladesh. Despite losing by a large margin, Afghanistan played well in patches, and troubled Bangladesh at times.
What hurt Afghanistan was overs 29 to 44 in the Bangladesh inning, and the start of their run chase. Chasing 268 for victory, Afghanistan lost 3 for 3, all but losing the game in the first three overs.
After losing to New Zealand by 98 runs in the opening game of the cup, this is a must-win game for Sri Lanka. Against the Black Caps the Lions didn’t field well, bowled poorly at times, and their best players got out cheaply.
While Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews made 46 and 39 respectively, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene struggled, making 24 and 0 respectively.
In the bowling department, Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara took one wicket for 162 runs between them.
Malinga, who returned for the first time since September after ankle surgery, couldn’t hit his line and length in the 10 overs he bowled.
They will be hoping to improve on that today.
These two teams have met before at the Asia Cup last year.
Batting first, Sri Lanka made 253, as Sangakkara made 76 and Mathews made 45.
In reply, Afghanistan lost 4 for 20 to be 5 for 73. They then lost 5 for 3, to be all out for 124.
Prediction
If Afghanistan are to be competitive they need to build partnerships against Sri Lanka – scores of 124 and 162 aren’t going to win many games of cricket. If they can score around 250 and limit the runs from Sri Lanka’s big four then the Afghani’s are right in the match.
Unfortunately that looks unlikely. Sri Lanka are more experienced than Afghanistan and that will come to the fore.
Sri Lanka to win comfortably to remain in the hunt for the quarter finals.
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