Sri Lanka tasted Asian Games gold medal after 12-long years as the island-nation’s men’s cricket team beat Afghanistan by 68 runs in the finals played at Incheon.
The Lankan bowlers shattered the Afghan dreams of winning their first-ever gold medal in Asian Games as they came with a stunning bowling effort to demolish the war-torn country in the final amidst thousands of noisy Lankan supporters
Lahiru Thirimanne once again won the toss of coin and this time around he decided to bat first with the weather forecast predicting clear skies throughout the match. Sri Lanka opened batting with Upul Tharanga and Dinesh Chandimal. Left-handed Upul Tharanga failed to make an impact as he was caught behind by Qaseem Khan off Nasim Baras for 1 run in the 2nd over.
Former Sri Lanka T20 Captain Dinesh Chandimal and Asian Games Captain Lahiru Thirimanne paired up effectively to speed up the run-rate and build a platform for the batsman to follow. Thirimanne was dominant with his crafty shots over the mid-off fielder and Chandimal succeeded in putting away the loose deliveries. Sri Lanka managed to score 49 runs in the first 6 overs where only 2 fielders were allowed to field outside the 30-yard circle. The 2nd wicket stand blossomed for the Islanders as they added 72 runs in 54 balls. Chandimal fell to the bowling of Fazal Rehman as he skied a full length after he scored 33 runs in 27 balls.
Thirimanne continued to punish the Afghan bowlers but returned to the dug-out after he was trapped LBW by Mohammed Nabi for a well-compiled 37-ball 57 which included 7 fours and a six. Afghanistan bowlers strangled the Lankan middle-order with disciplined death bowling as the batsmen failed to capitalize the advantage given by Chandimal and Thirimanne. Jeewan Mendis and Dilhara Lokuhettige struggled to stroke the straight deliveries and was given LBW after two disappointing knocks as the Lankan surge was halted by the spirited Afghans.
Afghanistan’s batsman Mohammad Qaseem Baddshah (L) plays a shot during the men’s cricket final against Sri Lanka ©AFP
At one stage, Sri Lanka were 100/3 in 13 overs but Afghanistan took control of the match thanks to their bowlers who restricted the Islanders for 133 in 19.1 overs with accurate yorkers and slow balls. Skipper Mohammed Nabi was the pick of the bowlers taking out 4 Lankan batsman for only 18 runs and was the mastermind of a superb Afghan comeback. Sri Lankan managed to score only 2 boundaries in the final 10 overs which clearly proves the failure of the batsmen who followed Chandimal and Thirimanne.
The silver medalist in 2010 – Afghanistan got off to a decent start in their chase of 134 before left-armer Isuru Udana castled Fazal Rehman for 2 runs in the 4th over and 3 balls later he got the wicket of dangerous Mohammed Shehzad before he troubled the scores. Sri Lanka got back into the driver’s seat as Upul Tharanga took a brilliant diving catch in the next over to dismiss Najeeb Tarakai for 17 off Chathuranga De Silva as Afghanistan were struggling at 20/3 in 5 overs.
The slow nature of the surface was exploited productively by the Lankan bowlers as the experienced pair of Mohammed Nabi and Samiullah Shenwari perished in search of quick runs as Afghanistan lost half of their side for only 36 runs.
Leg-spinner Jeewan Mendis tantalized the lower order with his bag of tricks as he picked up 3 wickets for 13 runs in 4 overs. Off-spinner Alankara Asanka bowled superbly as he gave away only 15 runs in his quota of 4 overs picking up 1 wicket. Chathuranga De Silva grabbed the final wicket in the 18th over as the passionate Lankan supporters rushed on to the ground to celebrate the win with their heroes.
Meanwhile in the bronze medal match, Bangladesh beat Hong Kong by 27 runs.
Chief Scores:
Sri Lanka – 133 all out in 19.1 overs: Lahiru Thirimanne 57, Dinesh Chandimal 33, Mohammed Nabi 4/18.
Afghanistan – 65 all out in 17.4 overs: Najeeb Tarakai 17, Jeewan Mendis 3/13, Isuru Udana 2/1, Chathuranga De Silva 2/20.
