Scintillating contributions from the talented pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz (119 off 92 balls) and Rahmat Shah (93 off 82 balls) led Afghanistan to a confidence-boosting six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their final World Cup warm-up game at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday, October 3. The pair added 215 runs for the second wicket to make light work of the 295-run chase that was shortened in between due to a lengthy rain delay. Their pyrotechnics also meant that Kusal Mendis’ freak show earlier in the day was to no avail.
Afghanistan tried their level best to contain Sri Lanka even as Mendis operated at the peak of his powers. They prised out the last 8 wickets for just 37 runs, with the right-hander retiring on 158 off just 87 balls. He demolished the dibbly dobbly Afghanistan seamers in the middle phase, and then attacked the spinners to boot. Once he retired there was none stopping Sri Lanka’s downfall. Mohammad Nabi was the chief wrecker with four scalps to his name, proving a handful for lefties in particular as the ball gripped and spun.