• Afghanistan defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the 30th match of the ODI World Cup.

  • Fazalhaq Farooqi picked up a brilliant four-fer for the Afghan side.

Twitter reaction: Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai guide Afghanistan to decent victory over Sri Lanka – ODI World Cup 2023
Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai guide Afghanistan to decent victory over Sri Lanka (Image Source: Twitter)

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The 30th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 saw Afghanistan take on Sri Lanka in a highly-anticipated encounter. The Afghan side emerged victorious in the contest by seven wickets, and their win was marked by phenomenal all-round performance. On the other hand, Sri Lanka failed to impress in any of the departments.

Sri Lanka’s batting struggles

Asked to bat first, Sri Lanka’s innings got off to a shaky start, with their opener Dimuth Karunaratne falling early for just five runs. However, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis chipped in with brilliant contributions and anchored the Sri Lankan innings. Nissanka added gritty 46 runs, while Mendis scored 39 runs. Sadeera Samarawickrama also contributed 36 runs, but Sri Lanka kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bundled out for 241 in 49.3 overs.

Fazalhaq Farooqi’s heroics

The hero of the day for Afghanistan was undoubtedly Fazalhaq Farooqi. The Afghan pacer took sensation four-fer, finishing with impressive figures of 4/34. His fiery spells put Sri Lanka on the back foot and prevented them from posting a substantial total, shifting the momentum in Afghanistan’s favour.

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Afghanistan’s strong response

Afghanistan’s batting lineup put up a determined effort to chase down the target. Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah provided a solid foundation with scores of 39 and 62, respectively. Hashmatullah Shahidi (58) and Azmatullah Omarzai (73) both contributed with valuable half-centuries as well. Dilshan Madushanka was the standout bowler for Sri Lanka, taking two wickets, but Afghanistan’s batters held their nerve and took the team across the finish line.

Afghanistan managed to reach the target of 242 with ease, finishing at 242/3 in just 45.2 overs. This victory marked Afghanistan’s third win in the ongoing World Cup. Notably, their other two victories came against cricket powerhouses England and Pakistan.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

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VISHWANATH HARIHARAN
Vishwanath Hariharan is Content Strategist at CricketTimes.com. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. From breaking news stories to in-depth features and opinion pieces, he has covered a wide range of topics. Vishwanath is very fond of watching cricket. Like many others, he too grew up watching, playing, and imitating his favourite players of the game. MS Dhoni is like a demigod to him. You can connect with him at vishwanath.hariharan@crickettimes.com and follow him on Twitter & Linkedin.