With Afghanistan cricket team's miscalculation costing them a win against Sri Lanka and a place in Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 stages, fans have sympathized with them and applauded the team for their efforts. However, a certain section of fans also slammed the players and the analysts for not ensuring the exact equation.
Afghanistan had given themselves a glimmer of hope after restricting Sri Lanka to 291, leaving themselves 37.1 overs to chase it down. Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi provided them with the momentum, hammering 65 off only 32 deliveries, while Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi stepped up with 45 and 59, respectively.
Afghanistan's lower-order batters, most prominently Rashid Khan kept the big hits coming even as Sri Lanka continued to chip away. Rashid had struck three boundaries off Dunith Wellalage in the 38th over to leave Mujeeb ur Rahman to score 3 runs off the first delivery of the next.
However, Dhananjaya de Silva made a vital strike for Sri Lanka by dismissing Mujeeb, bringing Fazalhaq Farooqi. With 6 runs still needed as Afghanistan were at 289-9, Farooqi struggled to take a single and played two dots, including a full toss. He tried to defend one more delivery, but was trapped lbw and all 10 wickets had fallen. In the end, Afghanistan had been unaware that they still had 3 more deliveries to qualify for the Super 4 stage.
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In fact, Afghanistan could still have been in contention if they took 38.1 overs to score 297. Eventually, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh qualified for the Super 4 stage from Group A, while India and Pakistan went through from the other.
Meanwhile, here's how fans and former cricketers reacted to Afghanistan's heartbreaking Asia Cup 2023 exit:
