Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan: In the 30th match of the ODI World Cup 2023, Afghanistan bowled out Sri Lanka for 241 at Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium. Fazalhaq Farooqi emerged as the hero for the Afghan side, making a significant impact by claiming four crucial wickets.

Despite Sri Lanka's average performance, a few key batsmen, including Pathum Nissanka, who contributed 46 runs, Kusal Mendis with 39, and Sadeera Samarawickrama, who managed 36, showed promise with good starts but were unable to capitalise on their initial momentum.

Earlier, Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bowl on the Pune track. Notably, Rashid Khan is playing his 100th ODI game. The wrist spinner managed to get the wicket of Dhananjaya de Silva to celebrate the milestone. 

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Both teams entered the contest on the back of impressive victories in their previous fixtures, seeking to secure their place in the semifinals.

Afghanistan showed a dominant performance against Pakistan in their previous game, where they secured victory by eight wickets in Chennai. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, emerged victorious against the defending champions, England, in Bengaluru. 

 

Team Changes

 

Both teams made strategic changes to their line-ups for this crucial match. Afghanistan, led by Hashmatullah Shahidi, opted for one alteration, introducing Fazalhaq Farooqi in place of the young spinner Noor Ahmad.

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Sri Lanka, in contrast, made two changes to their playing XI. One of these changes was forced as they brought in Dushmantha Chameera to replace Lahiru Kumara. Additionally, Dimuth Karunaratne took the position of Kusal Perera at the top of the batting order.

Afghanistan Playing 11: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Sri Lanka Playing 11: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (c & wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka

 

Points Table

 

As the teams took the field, Sri Lanka found themselves in the fifth position on the points table, having accumulated four points in their campaign. Afghanistan, matching Sri Lanka with four points, were positioned in the seventh spot, making this match a pivotal one in determining their semifinal prospects.