Brisbane, Nov 1:
Wanindu Hasaranga led an inspired bowling effort before Dhananjaya de Silva hit a fine fifty as Sri Lanka kept their semifinals hopes alive with a six-wicket win over Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup here on Tuesday.
Mystery spinner Hasaranga (3/13) and pacer Lahiru Kumara (2/30) shared five wickets among themselves to restrict Afghanistan to 144 for 8.
Dhananjaya then took control of the Sri Lankan innings with a strokeful unbeaten 66 off 42 balls as the reigning Asia Cup champions crossed the line with nine balls to spare.
With the win, Sri Lanka climb up to the third spot in group 1.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, dropped out of semifinal contention.
Defending a modest total, Sri Lanka started off well but Mujeeb ur Rahman (2/24) produced a leading edge to mark the end of Pathum Nissanka (10) putting the Sri Lankans under pressure. Fazalhaq Farooqi (1/22) bowled a maiden in the following over to tighten the screws.
However, Kusal Mendis (25) hit back-to-back boundaries in the next over, both over midwicket as Sri Lanka dallied to 28 for 1 in the Powerplay. (PTI)
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