Summary Tillakaratne scored 83 runs off 56 deliveries and was awarded Player of the Match.
LAHORE (Dunya News/AFP) – Defending champions Sri Lanka Thursday successfully chased down Afghanistan’s target of 153 runs, scoring 155 runs managing a victory by 6 wickets in the World T-20 tournament at Eden Garden, Kolkata. Dilshan Tillakaratne, with an exceptional innings propelled Sri Lanka towards the win, almost entirely on his own. Tillakaratne scored 83 runs off 56 deliveries. He was awarded Player of the Match.
Afghanistan had won the toss and elected to bat first. Skipper Asghar Stanikzai struck 62 off 47 balls as Afghanistan posted a competitive 153-7 in their opening match of the World Twenty20 against holders Sri Lanka on Thursday.
Stanikzai, 28, hit four sixes and three fours, while Samiullah Shenwari chipped in with a handy 31 to help Afghanistan recover from a shaky 51-4 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Paceman Thisara Perera picked up 3-33 in an otherwise disappointing show by the Sri Lankan bowlers who let the Afghans off the hook after a promising start.
New Sri Lankan T20 captain Angelo Mathews gave the islanders the key breakthrough by having in-form opener Mohammad Shahzad caught at mid-on for eight.
Scorecard
Afghanistan:
Mohammad Shahzad c Chameera b Mathews 8
Noor Ali Zadran b Herath 20
Asghar Stanikzai c Chandimal b Perera 62
Karim Sadiq c Chandimal b Perera 0
Mohammad Nabi lbw b Herath 3
Samiullah Shenwari c Perera b Kulasekara 31
Shafiqullah c Thirimanne b Perera 5
Dawlat Zadran not out 5
Najibullah Zadran not out 12
Extras (b1, w6) 7
Total (for 7 wickets, 20 overs) 153
Did not bat: Rashid Khan, Hamid Hassan
Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Shahzad), 2-44 (Noor Ali Zadran), 3-46 (Sadiq), 4-51 (Nabi), 5-112 (Shenwari), 6-132 (Shafiqullah), 7-136 (Stanikzai)
Bowling: Mathews 3-0-17-1 (w2), Kulasekara 4-0-43-1 (w1), Chameera 4-0-19-0 (w2), Herath 4-0-24-2 (w1), Perera 4-0-33-3, Siriwardana 1-0-16-0
Sri Lanka:
D. Chandimal c Shafiqullah b Nabi 18
T. Dilshan not out 83
L. Thirimanne b Khan 6
T. Perera run out 12
C. Kapugedera run out 10
A. Mathews not out 21
Extras (b4, w1) 5
Total (for 4 wkts, 18.5 overs) 155
Did not bat: Siriwardana, Jayasuriya, Kulasekara, Chameera, Herath
Fall of wickets: 1-41 (Chandimal), 2-58 (Thirimanne), 3-85 (Perera), 4-113 (Kapugedera)
Bowling: Sadiq 2-0-21-0, Hassan 3.5-0-38-0, Dawlat Zadran 3-0-31-0 (w1), Nabi 4-1-25-1, Rashid Khan 4-0-27-1, Samiullah 2-0-9-0
