Right then! Sri Lanka get two crucial points and move to No. 3 in the Group 1 standings. New Zealand and England are all set for their clash at the same venue and you can follow all the action LIVE here. Till the next time, on behalf of Chandan, Madushka, this is Sudarshanan signing off. Take care, ciao!
5:31pm Time for the presentation.
First up it is Mohammad Nabi, Afghanistan captain:"We had a good start in the powerplay but did not keep the momentum till the end. We tried to put up a good score but the pitch was too slow and we fell short. We did not bowl in right lines and lengths. Too many full balls by the fast bowlers. That is why we gave them a lot of opportunities to hit. [On playing Australia] From last ten days we didn't play a game. So we did not get any momentum. We have one more game and hopefully we do well."
Here comes Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka captain:"It was a good performance with bat and bowl. Special credit to Dhananjaya de Silva. He showed in T20s it is not about taking the bowlers on and he timed it well. I think we found some consistency today and it is important to continue it in the next game. The other games are beyond our control but the aim is to win the next game with a healthy rate."
Sifat Khawry : "Afghanistan's last two matches where called off because of rain where they had chance to defeat Ireland and get use to the conditions against New Zealand and that would have help them a lot in today's game.. "
Malli: "DDS is perfect allrounder to have in any team. Spinner who can bowl in powerplay and in middle overs. He can bat as a pure batsmen"
JOYDEEPSINGHGIL: "Don't forget sl bowlers just conceded 40 runs at 5 wickets with 8 economy within last 5 overs win sl this match otherwise afg score would've 170 "
5:23pm Dhananjaya not just helps Sri Lanka romp home but also deals the knockout blow to Afghanistan, who are now out of the semi-final race. A target of 145 was not to be a huge challenge to this Sri Lankan line-up but a few early wickets could have helped Afghanistan. They managed to just pick up two in the first ten overs and thereon they were always fighting a tough battle. Dhananjaya's stay in the middle ensured that there is no other end to this script. The scorecard may or may not suggest it but this has been a clinical performance from the Asia Cup champs. They played smart, nullified the Mujeeb-Rashid threat and in the end, have smiles and points to show.
Wanindu Hasaranga is the player of the match for his boundary-less three-wicket spell: "We lost our last two games against Australia and New Zealand. We had to play at our best. I am really happy with the way the boys played. I saw Zampa bowled really well in the last match and tried to bowl in line of the stumps and vary my pace. In Perth I went for some runs and that pitch is very good for batters. I knew how I could come back strong and I think I did that. [Bowling the last over] These [long] boundaries and on this surfaces, I knew how to bowl with these big boundaries."
Save for deep third and fine leg, everyone is inside the ring.
Looks bad on the replay. He ended up jamming his knee in the sand-based outfield at the Gabba. Seemingly in a lot of pain and is struggling to stand as the physios help him off. Not a great sight that...
Shanaka is in and will wait at the other end. Farooqi to finish.
END OF OVER:18 | 13 Runs 1 Wkt | SL: 142/4 (3 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 7.88, RRR: 1.50)
- Dhananjaya de Silva60 (39b)
- Mujeeb Ur Rahman4-0-24-2
- Fazalhaq Farooqi3-1-16-0
PBB Rajapaksa c †Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Mujeeb Ur Rahman 18 (24m 14b 3x4 0x6) SR: 128.57
Three overs left; when do Afghanistan turn to Mujeeb for his last over? And who will bowl the third over, assuming Farooqi bowls one more. Mujeeb to bowl out now.
END OF OVER:17 | 8 Runs | SL: 129/3 (16 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 7.58, RRR: 5.33)
- Dhananjaya de Silva48 (35b)
- Bhanuka Rajapaksa17 (12b)
- Fazalhaq Farooqi3-1-16-0
- Rashid Khan4-0-31-2
Mid-off and mid-on inside the ring. Fine leg goes back now.
Fazalhaq Farooqi back on. From over the wicket.