Sri Lanka white-ball captain Charith Asalanka has lauded pacer Nuwan Thushara for his three-wicket burst with the new ball, which rattled Afghanistan’s top order and contributed to his team’s victory.
After being asked to bowl first, Thushara took the new ball. In the third over, he claimed two wickets – first dismissing Rahmanullah Gurbaz and then Karim Janat, who failed to justify his promotion up the batting order. Sediqullah Atal was bowled by Thushara in the fifth over, as he single-handedly dismantled Afghanistan’s top order. The right-arm pacer returned in the death for his last over and removed Rashid Khan to finish with figures of 4/18. Asalanka was full of praise for the pacer.
“Thushara is a phenomenal guy,” Asalanka said after the match. “He bowls two or three overs in the powerplay and fulfils an important role for the country.”
Asalanka also praised the efforts of wicketkeeper Kusal Perera in the field. Perera took a couple of catches and was involved in a run-out. The Sri Lankan skipper cited his example, emphasising that the team aspires to be the best fielding side in the shortest format of the game.
“Perera was outstanding with the catches. We want to be the best fielding side in T20s. You need to catch everything in the shorter format.”
At one point, Afghanistan were considered slight favourites, given their high-quality bowling attack, but Kusal Mendis anchored the run chase, remaining unbeaten on 74 to see the team home. Kamindu Mendis played a vital role with a 13-ball 26.
Sri Lanka now head to the Super Four stage on the back of consecutive victories. They remain the only unbeaten team from Group B, having defeated Hong Kong, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
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