The last match of the league stage of the Asia Cup 2023 was played today between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, in this nail-biting thriller, Sri Lanka won by defeating Afghanistan by two runs. With this defeat, Afghanistan’s dream of top-4 qualification for Asia Cup 2023 ended.
After winning the toss, Sri Lanka’s captain Kusal Mendis decided to bat. Batting first, Sri Lanka scored 291 runs in the allotted 50 overs while losing eight wickets. The team’s highest run scorer was wicketkeeper batsman Kusal Mendis, who amassed 92 runs and hit six fours and three sixes in his innings. Gulbadin Naib took the most wickets for Afghanistan with four, and Rashid Khan had two.
Afghanistan’s team needed 289 runs to reach the target in their allotted 37.4 overs. The Afghanistan team’s beginnings weren’t particularly noteworthy. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, the two openers, each had innings of four and seven runs. Mohammad Nabi, an all-around player, led the team in scoring with a 65-run inning. His innings was notable for being completed in just 32 balls and featuring six fours and four sixes.
Rashid Khan, the star player for Afghanistan, was standing at the other end after making an unbeaten 27 off 16 balls but was unable to win the game because of frequent wickets falling.
Updated Points Table
Group A Points Table:
| Group A | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | Pts | NRR | ||
| Pakistan (Q) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | +4.760 | ||
| India (Q) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | +1.028 | ||
| Nepal | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -3.572 |
Group B Points Table:
| Group B | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | Pts | NRR | ||
| Sri Lanka (Q) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +0.951 | ||
| Bangladesh (Q) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +0.373 | ||
| Afghanistan | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -1.780 |
Read – All ten teams’ squads for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023
