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Thirimanne b Nabi 25 (SL 144-2)
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K Mendis c Shah b Nabi 2 (SL 146-3)
Afghans getting back into it
And 149-4
21.6
W
Mohammad Nabi to Mathews, OUT , would you believe it, three in the over and Nabi is turning the match on its head! Another arm ball outside off, beautiful length as well creating the doubt in Mathewsâ mind as to come forward or go back, he does neither, hangs his bat out and the outside edge takes the Shahzadâs gloves before being safely pouched by first slip
AD Mathews c Rahmat Shah b Mohammad Nabi 0 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
21.5
0
Mohammad Nabi to Mathews, no run, length on outside off., Mathews goes right back and defends back
21.4
W
Mohammad Nabi to Mendis, OUT , second time lucky for Nabi, whoâs having a gem of a day! Beautiful loop, drawing the batsman forward, but as though held on a string it drops just short of where Mendis could have smothered it, goes on with the arm and takes the outside edge straight to slip this time. Excellent captaincy to have the slip in
BKG Mendis c Rahmat Shah b Mohammad Nabi 2 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 100.00
21.3
2
Mohammad Nabi to Mendis, 2 runs, straighter one from Nabi with the slip in, the batsman hangs his bat out tentatively but just beats the diving fielder to his right
21.2
W
Mohammad Nabi to Thirimanne, OUT , through him off the inside edge! Really slowed it up, pulled the length back, and Thirimanne, as he often is, was casual in trying to turn it somewhere towards mid wicket and ended up dragging it back on to his stumps
HDRL Thirimanne b Mohammad Nabi 25 (34b 1x4 0x6) SR: 73.52
21.1
0
Mohammad Nabi to Thirimanne, no run, tossed up on off, defended to cover
Make that 149-5
1 Like
159-6
Mohammad Nabi to NLTC Perera, OUT , quicker on off, pushed to cover and do we have a run-out here? Afghanistan are confident. This was always on the cards with the amount of indecision that had crept in and the replays confirm, Thisara is short of his ground despite the dive
NLTC Perera run out (Hashmatullah Shahidi/â Mohammad Shahzad) 2 (4b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50.00
2 Likes
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Udana b Dawlat 10
178 - for 7 wickets (31.4 overs)
Dawlat Zadran to Udana, OUT , What are you DOING UDANA?! 19 overs left to bat and Udana lifts his head for a wild slog over the River Taff. Full and straight on the stumps from Dawlat and the zing bails go flying as middle stump is knocked back. Dawlat runs through wagging his index finger to the skies. SL team management might be doing more than that once Udana walks through the changing room door.
I Udana b Dawlat Zadran 10 (21b 0x4 1x6) SR: 47.61
I assume 95% of the crowd are still queuing at the âbox officeâ for their tickets
180/8
Rashid Khan to MDKJ Perera, OUT , MY GOODNESS! Goes for the reverse sweep and now goes to the pavilion! He tried to pick the line on about fourth stump with Rashid regularly bowling googlies, itâs not the worst option as heâd be hitting with the spin. But the length is a touch too full for the shot. The result is he gloves it instead of getting any bat on it. Shahzad holds onto the deflection. Sri Lankaâs set man is gone!
MDKJ Perera c â Mohammad Shahzad b Rashid Khan 78 (81b 8x4 0x6) SR: 96.29
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And the British Summer intervenes.
And saves the Sri Lankanâs blushes maybeâŚ
Radar is showing a cell of rain hovering around the ground for the next hour or so. Sharda Ugra from the ground is reporting that the rain has gotten heavier.
Ishan: âWhat is with all the extras?? Itâs like SL have 12 batsmen!â Afghanistan have really let them off the hook with the no balls and wides. Not just that, Sri Lanka scored a boundary off of each of the three free hits following Gulbadinâs three no balls.
1.06 pm. And the groundstaff charge onto the pitch! Unbelievable drama ramps up a notch as the match is stopped with the rain getting too thick! An hour ago, Afghanistan wouldnât have minded a rain break but now Sri Lanka are the ones probably over the moon to have a chance to get up off the mat for a standing eight-count.
3.30pm So, we have a 4pm start - half an hour from now - and not a significantly curtailed game. Itâs 41-overs per side. Good news for Sri Lanka, theyâll see no more of Mohammad Nabi
Match has resumed and we have the 9th wicket, 200-9
Dawlat Zadran to Malinga, OUT , finally gets one target! reminiscent of Malinga himself at his best, a slow looping yorker on middle, dipped appreciably and Malinga couldnât squeeze it out
SL Malinga b Dawlat Zadran 4 (14b 1x4 0x6) SR: 28.57
And all out for 201, now we wait to see what 
's revised total will be
Rashid Khan to Pradeep, OUT , an absolute snorter to end the innings, much too good for the tailender! Legspinner on middle and off, completely squared him up and clipped off stump
N Pradeep b Rashid Khan 0 (4b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
â
Update
The revised target for Afghanistan is 187. Sri Lanka would be bitterly disappointed, particularly after the openers blasted 79 in the first ten - highest so far in powerplay this world cup. A stunning Afghanistan comeback was scripted by Mohammad Nabi, who struck thrice in one over and the projected Sri Lanka score came down from 324 to 251 in the space of those deliveries.
1 Like
44-3 so far in reply
Pradeep to Hazratullah Zazai, OUT , OH MY GOODNESS! 10 OUT OF 10 FROM THE FRENCH JUDGE FOR THISARA PERERA! Pradeep bounced Zazai, who hooked flat and hard toward long leg. Thisara had about 1.5 seconds to cover 15 yards haring to his left. The ball never got more than 10-15 yards above the ground but he judged it immaculately before diving forward to clasp on two inches above the turf. Spectacular, a momentum-shifting effort!
Hazratullah Zazai c NLTC Perera b Pradeep 30 (25b 3x4 1x6) SR: 120.00
Doing their best to mess it up 134-7
152 all out SL win by 34 runs on DL method
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I can personally identify with thatâŚmany times. 
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Cracking 1st over from Bumrah no idea how you can play that stuff, goes for 2 runs.2nd over gets Amla.
Game on at Ageas Bowl
And 26/2, South Africa really arenât at the races for this WC are they?