AFGHANS GIVE SRI LANKA SCARE

SRI LANKA survived a World Cup fright yesterday as they scraped past Afghanistan in a low-scoring affair at Cardiff. The Sri Lanka batsmen pressed the self-destruct button and limped to 201 all out, setting the tournament minnows a very gettable revised target of 187 from 41 overs after a rain delay. But Sri Lanka were let off the hook as Afghanistan fell 34 runs short to hand the Lions a much-needed first win. Sri Lanka got off to a blistering start with the bat. Kusal Perera was the primary aggressor, propelling his side to 144 for one in rapid time. Then came the implosion. Afghanistan off-spinner Mohammad Nabi steamrolled the top order with three wickets in an over. In a calamitous middle period, Sri Lanka lost five wickets for 15 runs. Spinner Rashid Khan removed Perera for 78 to leave Sri Lanka 180 for eight. After a rain delay, the Lions’ tail failed to wag. In response, Hazratullah clubbed Lasith Malinga and Suranga Lakmal to all parts to get the Afghanistan innings off to a flier. But he was dismissed by a blinding catch at fine leg by Thisara Perera for 30 as Afghanistan slipped to 57 for five. A 64-run stand by Gulbadin Naib and Najibullah Zadran restored hope before Naib fell for 23. Zadran continued to fight until he was dismissed for 43 by a superb run-out from captain Dimuth Karunaratne before a perfect Malinga yorker castled Hamid Hassan and finished off Afghanistan with 50 balls remaining.

CARDIFF: SRI LANKA 201 (Perera 78, Nabi 4-30) beat AFGHANISTAN 152 (Zadran 43, Pradeep 4-31) by 34 runs (D/L).