Asia Cup 2022: All-round Afghanistan hammer toothless Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in opener

Afghanistan kick-started the Asia Cup 2022 T20 tournament with an eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the tournament opener on Saturday in Dubai.

Afghanistan dished out a complete performance to hammer toothless Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the opening match of Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai on Saturday. First, Afghanistan bowled out Sri Lanka for a below-par 105 in the Group B Asia Cup match and then chased down the target in just 10.1 overs with 8 wickets to spare on Saturday.

Left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi (3/11) did the damage at the top before the spin duo of Mujeeb-ur Rahman (2/24) and Mohammad Nabi (2/14) ruled the roost in the middle overs to skittle out the Lankans in 19.4 overs after Afghanistan chose to bowl.

SL vs AFG, Asia Cup 2022: Highlights

This was the first time Afghanistan bowled out a team without Rashid Khan (4-0-12-0) taking a wicket, which underlined their show as a collective bowling unit. Nevertheless, the wily Rashid was at his tidy best, bowling at crucial junctures to stifle Sri Lanka's recovery.

The only respite for the Islanders came from Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who led their recovery with a stroke-filled 29-ball 38 (5x4s, 1x6). But two clumsy run-outs in two balls exposed the Lankan's inexperience in the middle.

First, it was Nabi who came up with a direct throw to end Rajapaksa's brilliant counter-attacking knock and then another mad running saw the dismissal of Maheesh Theekshana on the very next ball to leave Sri Lanka tottering at 69/8.

They were in danger of getting all out inside 15 overs after Nabi reduced them to 75 for 9. Chamika Karunaratne showed the rearguard action with a 38-ball 31 (3x4, 1x6) to take them past 100.