Afghanistan 242 for 3 (Omarzai 73, Rahmat 62, Shahidi 58*) beat Sri Lanka 241 (Nissanka 46, Farooqi 4-34, Mujeeb 2-38) by seven wickets

Sri Lanka meanwhile are virtually out of the running for a semi-final berth, needing to essentially win all of their next three games – against India, Bangladesh and New Zealand – to stand any chance.

For Afghanistan this was a win set up by their bowlers, who had stifled Sri Lanka’s batters on a deck that was for all intents and purposes tailor-made for batting, before their batters ran down the target with minimal fuss.

Their reasons however differed. While Sri Lanka could be criticised for a criminal lack of intent, Afghanistan were simply following the breakdown devised for them by head coach Jonathan Trott. Several times over the course of the innings the broadcast camera would pan over his giant whiteboard with 10-over markers clearly laid out – “50 after 10”, “100 after 20”, etc. But despite it being offered up in as easy-to-digest manner as possible, such was the efficiency with which Afghanistan went about their work, Sri Lanka were powerless to do anything about it.

Sure Dilshan Madushanka tailed one in on Rahmanullah Gurbaz off just the fourth ball of the chase to dislodge middle stump, but Afghanistan had their playbook and they followed it to a tee. Even when the wickets did fall, Afghanistan were quick to snuff out any momentum Sri Lanka might have been looking to derive.

Partnerships of 73, 58 and 111 – between Ibrahim Zadran and Shah, Shah and Shahidi, and then Shahidi and Omarzai – formed the spine of their chase. Throughout that effort, boundaries were never sought after but only accepted when offered, as they were content to wait for loose balls, rarely willing – or needing – to take a risk.

Sri Lanka for their part began to look more and more broken as the innings wore on, running out of ideas and steam on a surface that offered them nothing and against a team that were equally unforgiving.

But the tone for this game had been set from the very beginning, as having been asked to bat first – a decision Kusal Mendis said he would have taken even had he won the toss – Sri Lanka would proceed with an uncertainty conspicuously lacking in their first five matches.

Against Afghanistan though, on a surface which had been described as a “batter’s paradise” during the pitch report, the inclusion of Dimuth Karunaratne betrayed the fear that had been driving Sri Lanka’s thinking.

Yes, Kusal Perera hadn’t made an impact aside from his 78 against Australia, but a surface such as this might have proved precisely the panacea for his batting troubles. Instead Sri Lanka were left frustrated as his replacement Karunaratne would play and miss a handful of shortish, wide deliveries on either side of the wicket – rare loose balls in otherwise tight opening spells from Fazalhaq Farooqi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Sri Lanka would end up striking just four boundaries in the first 10 overs.

Full report to follow…