Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in a World Cup warm-up game

Guwahati: Kusal Mendis scored a breathtaking 158 as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 294 by Afghanistan before slipping to a six-wicket defeat in a rain-hit match in Guwahati. Mendis, captain for the day with Dasun Shanaka sitting out the final warm-up, made his runs off only 87 balls. He hit 19 fours and nine sixes as Afghanistan struggled to apply the brakes with only former skipper Mohammad Nabi enjoying sustained success with 4-44. Afghanistan were sitting comfortably on 118 for 1 in the 21st over in reply when rain stopped play. They were then set an adjusted target of 257 off 42 overs and cruised home with 23 balls to spare. 

A couple of



stellar batting performances from Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rahmat Shah and that was enough for them to clinch a big victory against Sri Lanka. Gurbaz was fantastic at the top and scored a century whereas Shah also got into the 90s. This victory will certainly give them a lot of confidence going into the main tournament.

Sri Lanka will be fairly disappointed with that performance as yet again they have fallen short against against an Asian rival and the injuries to key players is really holding them back. There have been a few bright spots but they will need to pull up their socks to go deep in the main event.