Asia Cup 2025: Mendis, Thushara help SL win by 6 wickets, knock Afghanistan out

Nuwan Thushara picked 418 while wicketkeeperbatter Kusal Mendis produced a composed unbeaten 74 off 52 balls to guide Sri Lanka to a sixwicket win over Afghanistan in their final Group B fixture of the Asia Cup at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium on ThursdayThe result confirmed Sri Lanka and Bangladeshrsquos progression to the Super Fours while Afghanistan last yearrsquos T20 World Cup semifinalists were knocked out of the tournament Chasing 170 on a surface offering grip and bounce Sri Lanka made a tricky target look routine thanks largely to Kusalrsquos assured knock laced with ten boundaries ndash with his pull cuts and sweeps being an absolute delight to watchSri Lankarsquos innings began with a flourish but soon went into troubled waters Pathum Nissanka was dismissed for six after pulling Azmatullah Omarzai straight to short fine leg Kamil Mishara followed soon after chipping Mohammad Nabi to extra cover At 522 after the power play the game was finely balancedKusal however ensured stability He reached his fifty off 40 balls with a sweep equalling Nissankarsquos tally of 17 T20I halfcenturies His ability to rotate strike and pick gaps kept Sri Lanka ahead of the required rate even as wickets fell at the other endKusal Pererarsquos dismissal caught behind off Mujeeb Ur Rahman briefly gave Afghanistan hope but Charith Asalankarsquos late dab to backward point took Sri Lanka to 1013 confirming their qualification to the Super Fours Asalanka fell soon after and Kamindu Mendis survived a runout scare when Rashid Khan attempting a direct hit injured his back and left the fieldKusal and Kamindu closed out the chase with calculated aggression picking boundaries off Noor and Fazalhaq Farooqi before the former sealed the win with a scything cut and a pull through midwicket off Mujeeb for boundaries Afghanistanrsquos bowlers were also guilty of leaking runs at crucial junctures as they suffered a premature exit from the competition despite Nabirsquos heroics of 60 off just 22 ballsPreviously the veteran Nabi unleashed a deathovers masterclass in a blazing knock including hitting six sixes and powered Afghanistan to 169 in a mustwin game Afghanistan were floundering at 1207 at the end of 18 overs but Nabi the longestserving member of the Afghanistan side turned the tide with a breathtaking assault in the final two overs ndash amassing a jawdropping 46 runs of which 32 runs came in the final overHis 35run stand with skipper Rashid 24 was the highest partnership of the innings and his finalover fireworks off Dunith Wellalage five sixes including one coming off a noball ndash took Afghanistan from a middling total to a competitive one Incidentally Nabi was dropped once in the deep by Wellalage an error which came back to bite Sri Lanka hardAfghanistan had started brightly by amassing 26 runs in the first two overs But they lost momentum after Thushararsquos incisive powerplay spell saw him remove Rahmanullah Gurbaz Karim Janat and Sediqullah Atal to reduce Afghanistan to 453 at the end of powerplayAfghanistan found themselves struggling with strike rotation especially with no boundary coming after the fourth over Sri Lankarsquos fielding was electric Kusal Pererarsquos relay catch to dismiss Darwish Rasooli while Dushmantha Chameerarsquos acrobatic grab to send back Azmatullah OmarzaiRashid started the counterattack by carting Shanaka for a pair of boundaries including a delightful nolook six before being castled by Thushara Nabirsquos fightback began when he hit Chameera for a hattrick of boundaries behind point in front of square and via an edge to fine leg as 17 runs cameIn the final over by Wellalage Nabi pounced by launching the first three balls for sixes before getting two more maximums and then being run out on the final ball Nabirsquos final flourish has ensured Afghanistan have a fighting chance to book their spot in Super Fours which didnrsquot materialise as they were outwitted by a spirited Sri LankaBrief scoresAfghanistan 1698 in 20 overs Mohammad Nabi 60 Rashid Khan 24 Nuwan Thushara 418 Dasun Shanaka 129 lost to Sri Lanka 1714 in 184 overs Kusal Mendis 74 not out Kusal Perera 28 Azmatullah Omarzai 110 Noor Ahmad 137 by six wicketsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever