Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Right then! Sri Lanka get two crucial points and move to No. 3 in the Group 1 standings. New Zealand and England are all set for their clash at the same venue and you can follow all the action LIVE here. Till the next time, on behalf of Chandan, Madushka, this is Sudarshanan signing off. Take care, ciao!

5:31pm Time for the presentation.

First up it is Mohammad Nabi, Afghanistan captain:"We had a good start in the powerplay but did not keep the momentum till the end. We tried to put up a good score but the pitch was too slow and we fell short. We did not bowl in right lines and lengths. Too many full balls by the fast bowlers. That is why we gave them a lot of opportunities to hit. [On playing Australia] From last ten days we didn't play a game. So we did not get any momentum. We have one more game and hopefully we do well."

Here comes Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka captain:"It was a good performance with bat and bowl. Special credit to Dhananjaya de Silva. He showed in T20s it is not about taking the bowlers on and he timed it well. I think we found some consistency today and it is important to continue it in the next game. The other games are beyond our control but the aim is to win the next game with a healthy rate."

Sifat Khawry : "Afghanistan's last two matches where called off because of rain where they had chance to defeat Ireland and get use to the conditions against New Zealand and that would have help them a lot in today's game.. "

Malli: "DDS is perfect allrounder to have in any team. Spinner who can bowl in powerplay and in middle overs. He can bat as a pure batsmen"

JOYDEEPSINGHGIL: "Don't forget sl bowlers just conceded 40 runs at 5 wickets with 8 economy within last 5 overs win sl this match otherwise afg score would've 170 "

5:23pm Dhananjaya not just helps Sri Lanka romp home but also deals the knockout blow to Afghanistan, who are now out of the semi-final race. A target of 145 was not to be a huge challenge to this Sri Lankan line-up but a few early wickets could have helped Afghanistan. They managed to just pick up two in the first ten overs and thereon they were always fighting a tough battle. Dhananjaya's stay in the middle ensured that there is no other end to this script. The scorecard may or may not suggest it but this has been a clinical performance from the Asia Cup champs. They played smart, nullified the Mujeeb-Rashid threat and in the end, have smiles and points to show.

Wanindu Hasaranga is the player of the match for his boundary-less three-wicket spell: "We lost our last two games against Australia and New Zealand. We had to play at our best. I am really happy with the way the boys played. I saw Zampa bowled really well in the last match and tried to bowl in line of the stumps and vary my pace. In Perth I went for some runs and that pitch is very good for batters. I knew how I could come back strong and I think I did that. [Bowling the last over] These [long] boundaries and on this surfaces, I knew how to bowl with these big boundaries."

18.3
4
Fazalhaq Farooqi to de Silva, FOUR, Gorgeous stroke to seal the deal for Sri Lanka, Dhananjaya de Silva! Full and outside off, nonchalantly lifts it over covers to help them home to a six-wicket win.
18.2
0
Fazalhaq Farooqi to de Silva, no run, Inside edges the full ball outside off to the keeper.

Save for deep third and fine leg, everyone is inside the ring.

Looks bad on the replay. He ended up jamming his knee in the sand-based outfield at the Gabba. Seemingly in a lot of pain and is struggling to stand as the physios help him off. Not a great sight that...

18.1
2
Fazalhaq Farooqi to de Silva, 2 runs, Short and angling away, he goes back and pulls it well past mid-on. Rashid rushes to his left from deep midwicket and puts in the dive to stop the boundary but seems to have twisted his knee in the process.

Shanaka is in and will wait at the other end. Farooqi to finish.

END OF OVER:
18 | 13 Runs 1 Wkt | SL: 142/4 (3 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 7.88, RRR: 1.50)

  • Dhananjaya de Silva60 (39b)
  • Mujeeb Ur Rahman4-0-24-2
  • Fazalhaq Farooqi3-1-16-0
17.6
W
Mujeeb Ur Rahman to Rajapaksa, OUT, Rajapaksa is caught behind! Quiet end to his stay but a good catch. Quicker and on a length just outside off, he looks to steer it past the wicketkeeper but makes a fine contact off the middle of the bat. It lobs up via Gurbaz's arms and he completes the catch running to his left.

PBB Rajapaksa c †Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Mujeeb Ur Rahman 18 (24m 14b 3x4 0x6) SR: 128.57

17.5
1
Mujeeb Ur Rahman to de Silva, 1 run, Full on middle and leg, eased to long-on.
17.4
4
Mujeeb Ur Rahman to de Silva, FOUR, Back-to-back fours and Sri Lanka are almost home. Half-tracker around middle and leg, he goes back and pulls it through square leg.
17.3
4
Mujeeb Ur Rahman to de Silva, FOUR, Smart and cheeky. Gets into position early and plays the reverse-scoop over the wicketkeeper off the length ball. Makes really good contact.
17.2
1
Mujeeb Ur Rahman to Rajapaksa, 1 run, Shortish outside off, goes back and pulls it through square leg.
17.1
3
Mujeeb Ur Rahman to de Silva, 3 runs, On a length on middle and off, tucked away through square leg. Another needless direct hit at the bowler's end and that allows Dhananjaya rush back for two more to get to a superb half-century.

Three overs left; when do Afghanistan turn to Mujeeb for his last over? And who will bowl the third over, assuming Farooqi bowls one more. Mujeeb to bowl out now.

END OF OVER:
17 | 8 Runs | SL: 129/3 (16 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 7.58, RRR: 5.33)

  • Dhananjaya de Silva48 (35b)
  • Bhanuka Rajapaksa17 (12b)
  • Fazalhaq Farooqi3-1-16-0
  • Rashid Khan4-0-31-2
16.6
1
Fazalhaq Farooqi to de Silva, 1 run, Full and outside off, punch-drives it to mid-off for a quick run to keep strike.
16.5
1
Fazalhaq Farooqi to Rajapaksa, 1 run, Length ball just outside off, opens the face to steer it to deep third.
16.4
1
Fazalhaq Farooqi to de Silva, 1 run, Short in length, slow as well. Guides it to fine leg.
16.3
0
Fazalhaq Farooqi to de Silva, no run, Angling away on a length, he misses the steer.
16.2
4
Fazalhaq Farooqi to de Silva, FOUR, Glorious! Dhananjaya de Silva is an artist. Full and outside off, he leans into it and lifts it over cover. Ahh, paint a picture of that shot already.

Mid-off and mid-on inside the ring. Fine leg goes back now.

16.1
1
Fazalhaq Farooqi to Rajapaksa, 1 run, Bangs it short and it is the slower one. Rajapaksa waits for it before pulling it through backward square leg.

Fazalhaq Farooqi back on. From over the wicket.

Sri Lanka 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st12BKG MendisP Nissanka
2nd34DM de SilvaBKG Mendis
3rd54DM de SilvaKIC Asalanka
4th42PBB RajapaksaDM de Silva
5th6MD ShanakaDM de Silva

ICC Men's T20 World Cup

First Round Group A
TeamMWLPTNRR
SL32140.667
NED3214-0.162
NAM31220.73
UAE3122-1.235
First Round Group B
TeamMWLPTNRR
ZIM32140.2
IRE32140.105
SCOT31220.304
WI3122-0.563
Group 1
TeamMWLPTNRR
NZ53172.113
ENG53170.473
AUS5317-0.173
SL5234-0.422
IRE5133-1.615
AFG5032-0.571
Group 2
TeamMWLPTNRR
IND54181.319
PAK53261.028
SA52250.874
NED5234-0.849
BAN5234-1.176
ZIM5133-1.138