Aiming to win our next game with a healthy rate: SL skipper after Afghanistan win
Nov 01, 2022
Brisbane [Australia], November 1 : Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka stated that the team would look to win their remaining matches with good margins to maintain a good net run rate, helping them maximise their chances to qualify for the semi-final of the T20 World Cup.
Sri Lanka registered a comprehensive six-wicket victory over Afghanistan, keeping their chances of making it into the semi-finals alive.
The Sri Lankan was well aware of the fact that the team needs big wins in order to create a chance for them while expecting other teams like Australia, and England to lose their matches.
"We are aiming to win our next game with a healthy rate which gives us a good chance to qualify," stated Shanaka.
Expressing his happiness about the team's clinical performance and praising the players he said that the credit for the victory goes to him. He specifically heaped praises on Dhananjaya de Silva and Wanindu Hasaranga who came up with match-winning performances.
"It was a good performance from bat and ball. DDS played a classy inning. He showed that in T20 it's not all about taking the bowlers on, he timed his innings. Credit to him and Wanindu," said the captain.
The captain was also appreciative of his bowlers who restricted Afghanistan to a low score.
"The bowlers bowled in the right areas. We found some consistency today, what is important is to continue in the next game as well. The other games are beyond our control," mentioned the Sri Lankan.
Buoyed by the match-winning knock of Dhananjaya de Silva and Wanindu Hasaranga's three-wicket haul, Sri Lanka registered their second tournament win to keep their T20 World Cup dream alive.
Opting to bat first, the Afghan inning started cautiously with openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Usman Ghani seeing off the new ball. Gurbaz sensed the need to score runs and took the initiative to attack the Sri Lankan bowlers.
However, the team kept losing wickets at regular intervals to post a paltry total of 144/8.
Wanindu Hasaranga was declared the 'Player of the Match' for his superb bowling performance.
