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Following his side's seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Afghanistan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi said that he was looking for swing early on but later focussed on hitting the right areas and gained success.
Half-centuries from Rahmant Shah, skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai and a four-wicket haul by Fazalhaq Farooqi helped Afghanistan secure a memorable seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their ICC Cricket World Cup match at Pune on Monday. "It feels pretty good, we have three wins in the tournament, happy to contribute and win the game. I looked for swing early on but did not get it so then I kept it simple and hit the right areas and that was the plan for the spell and I got success in it. We struggled in the past in the last overs...gave away too many runs but we bowled with variations today and the hard work in net sessions helped, couple of days' rest also worked in our favour. We tried to bowl as many variations as possible. Thank you," said Farooqi in a post-match presentation. Coming to the match, Afghanistan put Sri Lanka to bat first. The Lankan Lions lost their wickets at regular intervals. Knocks from Pathum Nissanka (46 in 60 balls, with five fours), Kusal Mendis (39 in 50 balls, with three fours) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (36 in 40 balls, with three fours) took SL to 241 in their 49.3 overs. Fazalhaq Farooqi (4/34) was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan. Mujeeb took two scalps while Rashid and Azmatullah Omarzai took a wicket each. In the chase of 242 runs, half-centuries from Azmatullah Omarzai (73* in 63 balls, with six fours and three sixes), Rahmat Shah (62 in 74 balls, with seven fours) and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (58* in 74 balls, with two fours and a six) helped Afghanistan seal a win. Dilshan Madushanka got two wickets while Kasun Rajitha got one wicket. Farooqi won the 'Player of the Match' award for his knock. (ANI)
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