Sri Lanka win Gold for Men’s Cricket in Asian Games

Sri Lanka won the gold medal after beating Afghanistan in the final match of Asian Games Men’s Cricket Competition played at Yeonhui Cricket Ground, Incheon on Friday.

The Afghans were bowled out for 65 runs, chasing Sri Lanka’s target of 133.

Sri Lanka’s strong team comprising several international-level players including former National Team regulars Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne proved too much to handle for minnow Afghanistan.

Thirimanne top scored with 57 runs while Chandimal smashed 33 runs in 27 balls. Mohammed Nabi picked up 4 wickets for Afghanistan conceding just 18 runs.

For Sri Lanka Jeewan Mendis picked up 3 wicket while Isuru Udana and Chaturanga de Silva shared four.

Afghanistan booked place in the final following a thumping eight-wicket win (D/L method) over Hong Kong in the rain-aborted semifinal. Having reduced Hong Kong to 88-8 in their 20 overs, the Afghan side rode on Mohammad Shahzad’s unbeaten 28-ball 41 to reach 73-2 in 11.3 overs before the match was called off due to rain.

Sri Lanka progressed to the summit clash after the fate of their semifinal against defending champions Bangladesh was decided on toss following the abandonment of match due to rain. Bangladesh had reached 59-3 in 11 overs before the showers arrived.

Afghanistan:

Mohammad Nabi (Captain), Karim Sadiq, Najeeb Tarakai, Abdullah Adil,Mohammad Shahzad, Samiullah Shenwari, Fazal Rahman, Gulbadin Naib, Fareed Ahmad, Amir Hamza, M Nasim Baras, Qaseem Khan†, Mohammad Mujtaba, Sayed Shirzad, Fazalu Sherin, Hamid Hassan, Abdullah

Sri Lanka:

HDRL Thirimanne (Captain), BMAJ Mendis, LHD Dilhara, WU Tharanga, LD Chandimal (wicketkeeper) ,RLB Rambukwella, CKB Kulasekara, KDK Vithanage, I Udana, PC de Silva, DSNFG Jayasuriya, DAS Gunaratne, SAC Kumara, AAS Silva, SMA Priyanjan.

(Ada Derana)

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