Afghanistan failed to orchestrate an upset result, as Sri Lanka won Tuesday’s rain-affected World Cup fixture at Sophia Garden in Cardiff, Wales, by 34 runs.
- ODI career best figures for Pradeep and Nabi
- Sri Lanka lost 10 wickets for 109 runs
- Revenge for Sri Lanka after 2018 Asia Cup defeat
Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka in 2018’s Asia Cup – and outdid Pakistan in last month’s World Cup warm-up fixtures. They were unable to replicate these unlikely outcomes this week, though.
Sri Lanka pledged a hefty total on the back of a 92-run partnership between openers Kusal Perera and Dimuth Karunaratne. They fell in relatively quick succession, though, and sparked a collapse that saw Sri Lanka lose 10 wickets for 109 runs in a final total of 201 all out.
Afghan spinner Mohammad Nabi welcomed career joint-best ODI figures, equalling the four for 30 taken against Ireland in Greater Noida, India, two years ago.
Afghanistan’s reply was limited to 152 all out. Opener Hazratullah Zazai, middle-order batsman
Najibullah Zadran and captain Gulbadin Naib gathered promising starts, but failed to convert to innings of genuine substance.
Sri Lankan seamer Nuwan Pradeep was named Player of the Match for an ODI career best haul of four for 31.
Wednesday will see New Zealand play Bangladesh at The Oval in London – and South Africa clash with India at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.
Photo: Getty Images
