World Cup 2023: Angelo Mathews' effortless scoop during AFG vs SL
- By Web Desk -
- Oct 31, 2023
The dream of Afghanistan remains alive during the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 after they defeated Sri Lanka with a seven-wicket victory on Monday, October 30 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
Afghanistan, after winning the toss, asked Sri Lanka to bat first and was eventually bowled out for a total of 241 runs in 49.3 overs.
However, Afghanistan comfortably chased the target in 45.2 overs and secured their third victory in the tournament.
Earlier in the first innings, Angelo Mathews failed to go big with the bat as he got dismissed for 23 (26). However, he played an astonishing shot in his short innings as he stylishly scooped Naveen ul Haq for a six over fine leg. On the first ball of the 46th over, the Afghanistan seamer pitched the ball short to Mathews. The Sri Lankan batter stayed still and nonchalantly scooped it over fine leg for a maximum.
Coming back to the match, apart from Mathews, Kusal Mendis (39 off 50), Pathum Nissanka (46 off 60) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (36 off 40) also played handy knocks to help Sri Lanka reach 241 all out in 49.3 overs. Fazalhaq Farooqi was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan as he scalped 4/34 in ten overs Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/38) also picked two wickets.
Azmatullah Omarzai top scores in Afghanistan’s run chase
In reply, Afghanistan didn’t get off to a great start in their chase losing their opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz (0 off 4) in the first over itself. However, Ibrahim Zadran (39 off 57) and Rahmat Shah (62 off 74) added 73 runs for the second wicket to stabilize the innings. Following their dismissals, captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (58* off 74) and Azmatullah Omarzai (73* off 63) got involved in an unbeaten 111-run stand to help their side chase down 242 in 45.2 overs and win the match by seven wickets.