SL vs AFG

So that will be all from our coverage of this third quarterfinal. India, Pakistan and Afghanistan are through to the semifinals and one of Bangladesh or Malaysia will join them. Who will it be? Do switch tabs in over an hour from now and catch our coverage of the final quarterfinal right here on Sportskeeda, while also keeping a tab of all the other action at the Asian Games with a certain Neeraj Chopra set to make his presence felt later this evening. For now though, this is the duo of Mohul Bhowmick and Sooryanarayanan Sesha taking your leave. Thank you so much for tuning in as we hope you enjoyed our coverage. See you around soon - take care and buh-bye!

Match summary: Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka by 8 runs to qualify for the semifinals of the Asian Games 2023.

Noor Ali Zadran 51 (52) | Qais Ahmad 3/16 (4)
Sahan Arachchige 22 (29) | Nuwan Thushara 4/17 (3)

A low-scoring thriller at the Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field! One that certainly had its share of ordinary cricket but in the end, an outstanding bowling and fielding display by the Afghans sees them overcome a terrible batting collapse and march into the semifinals, dumping Sri Lanka out in the process.

A measly 116 is all that Afghanistan had to work with even on a raging turner. Gulbadin Naib surprisingly went for five overs of pace in the powerplay especially after Lasith Croospulle and Shevon Daniel got off to a flyer. Having bowled three of them himself though, he vindicated the move by striking twice after Sharafuddin Ashraf removed Croospulle. Things were poised evenly at the end of the powerplay, putting the onus on Shehan Arachchige and Ashen Bandara to rescue the Lankans.

They duly did so by cashing in on anything in the slot although attempting one shot too many cost Bandara his wicket. Qais Ahmad was on a roll as he chipped away regularly with Zahir Khan also letting it off a string at the other end as skipper Arachchige ran out of partners at regular intervals. The asking rate was never a treacherous one but Sri Lanka did not help their cause one bit with their shot selection. Afghanistan were completely switched on with Qais' stellar one-handed leap to send Ravindu Fernando back standing out.

A big mix-up between Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and Arachchige saw the latter being run out - one of many ordinary dismissals throughout this game with the batters from both sides not showing the kind of game awareness warranted of them. Eventually, the writing was on the wall and despite Sri Lanka's tail trying to pull it off with the game entering the last over, defeat was inevitable. Afghanistan have progressed to the semifinals and will now face Pakistan - a spicy encounter if their recent duels are anything to go by! As for Sri Lanka, this is it for the Asian Games. A great experience for their many debutants but the lack of experience has cost them dearly.

Straight to the man and that's the end of that! Afghanistan will rejoice as they set up a semifinal date with Pakistan on Friday. Alas for Sri Lanka, their campaign is done.

19.1 Karim Janat to Nuwan Thushara, AFGHANISTAN ARE THROUGH! SRI LANKA BOTTLE THIS GAME! Short of a length on off and middle, comes back in. Thushara gets into position and pulls it straight to the man at deep square leg, who takes a simple catch. Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka by 8 runs!

Nuwan Thushara c Shahidullah Kamal b Karim Janat 6 (5b, 1x4, 0x6)

And here we go - a last-over finish folks! We've seen a lot of these in this format and this one's equally hard to predict. One false shot and Sri Lanka will kiss their medal hopes goodbye. A couple of poor deliveries and Afghanistan will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Sri Lanka require 9 runs to win off the last over!

18.5 Fareed Malik to Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, at a length outside off, comes back in. Vijay gets rapped on the pads outside the line. A leg bye taken.

18.1 Fareed Malik to Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, FOUR! SHOT! Short of a length on off and middle, comes back in. Vijay pulls it away wide of midwicket and square leg for a boundary!

Much needed boundary and it's the 100 up for Sri Lanka! One wicket and this is Afghanistan's game. But just a few hits to the fence will result in heartbreak for the Afghans and ecstasy for the Islanders. Sri Lanka require 15 runs off 12 deliveries at 7.50 RPO.

17.6 Gulbadin Naib to Nuwan Thushara, EDGED AND FOUR! Short of a length outside off. Thushara tries to pull it away but gets a top edge over the fielder at mid off for a boundary!