Sri Lanka survive Afghanistan Scare, thanks to Jayawardene

Sri Lanka narrowly escaped an embarrassing situation, thanks to Mahela Jayawardene, who scored a timely hundred to help his team beat Afghanistan by 4 wickets. It was Sri Lanka’s first victory in 2015 World Cup, as they had lost to New Zealand in the first game.

Afghanistan bowled out for 232 in 49.4 overs. Asghar Stanikzai (54), Javed Ahmadi (24), Samiullah Shenwari (38), Mohammad Nabi (21) and Mirwais Ashraf (28) were the top scorers. Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews took three wickets each, while Suranga Lakmal took two wickets.

While chasing, Sri Lanka lost four wickets for just 51 runs on board. However, Mahela Jayawardene held to forte to revive the Sri Lankan innings. They finally reached 236/6 in 48.2 overs and won the match by 4 wickets. Jayawardene scored 100, while Mathews made 44. Karunaratne (23) and Thisara Perera (47*) were the other contributors. Hamid Hassan took three wickets for Afghanistan. Jaywardene was declared ‘Man of the Match.