Afghanistan were just 35 runs away from writing a grand new chapter in their rapid rise in international cricket. That too, after a wretched first hour of the match that saw Sri Lanka almost put the match beyond their reach.
Their discipline let them down; the margin of defeat was also the number of extras Gulbadin Naib and Co conceded after sending their opponents into bat – 35. Who would have thought that the margin of error was so small in one of the most error-strewn World Cup matches of all time.
The wide and the no-ball fury was only a subplot of the tragicomedy that unfolded in Cardiff. Wicketkeepers from both sides were subjected to a short-ball barrage; every fibre of their body stretched while jumping full-stretch in the air. Four byes came at a premium. There was an inexplicable collapse that was triggered by Mohammad Nabi on a wicket that offered little turn.
Amidst the poor cricket, there was also a long rain delay, poor running between the wickets and sloppy fielding that played a part in the proceedings. But it seemed as though Kusal Perera was batting on a different wicket compared to the other 21. The hard-hitting left-hander’s 78 seemed like the only episode that wouldn’t have found a place in what was akin to a group of Sunday League footballers labouring through a 35-goal slugfest.
The Lankan blitz
Both teams came into the game having lost their opening games. Afghanistan, though, far from rolled over against reigning champions Australia. Sri Lanka were, well, the Sri Lanka that we have come to see in the post Jayawardane-Sangakkara era: Listless, timid, lackadaisical and devoid of a plan. New Zealand made short work of them and were greeted to the pavilion by boos from an angry set of fans.
Enter Perera with the done-to-death comparison of the Sanath Jayasuriya-type backlift, short-arm jab and the gift of brutalising pacers. He mixes that with nerves of steel and decent game sense. He is a little more than a mere poser of the Matara Mauler, and briefly, Sri Lanka’s travails had taken a backseat. Perera cut, punched and pulled with aplomb, nearly making Naib’s decision to bowl look foolish.
This is not the first time Perera has lifted his teammates from hopeless positions. He, after all, has been central to some important wins – however rare they might have been – for his struggling side in recent years.
In the Champions Trophy two years ago, it seemed like India had batted them out of the contest. Perera’s brief vigil before retiring hurt infused belief to chase a steep 322-run target. Of course, the 28-year-old waltzed through to the annals of cricketing folklore against a terrorising South Africa pace attack at Durban in a Test match earlier this year.
The Afghanistan skipper’s ragged 10-ball over, replete with a potent mix of wides and no-balls, summed up his team’s wastefulness on a wicket that would have had a good pacer licking his lips.
Afghanistan’s bowlers were guilty of not building any kind of pressure with the ball moving off the pitch during this passage of play. It wasn’t unfathomable to envision the the former champions bringing up the first 400 of the tournament. By the 22nd over, Sri Lanka were comfortably placed at 144/1. The Afghans were wilting and only had their dependable spin trio to turn to.
Bad versus really bad
Till then Perera had shown his intelligence in farming the strike and a thrilling display of courage. But soon after, he was reduced to a mere spectator as his teammates committed hara kiri.
Sri Lanka’s insipid middle-order played shots they they shouldn’t have. Afghanistan, at the time, were merely probing to get a foothold in the contest. Nabi’s three-wicket burst in the 23rd over exposed the Lankans’ soft core.
Perera was isolated and cut a frustrating figure, far from the one that gleefully tore into the pacers during the powerplay. He was dismissed trying a needless reverse sweep off Rashid Khan.
In the chase, Nuwan Pradeep’s heart and probing lengths deserve praise and rocked the Afghanistan top-order. Lasith Malinga did the rest, finishing the match with a couple of yorkers that were straight out of his vintage collection. Despite Sri Lanka’s jail-break, they were on the ropes at times.
The early overs saw the likes of Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Isuru Udana and Pradeep going too short or wide, and were leaking runs aplenty. The fielders too, felt the pressure of a possible World Cup humiliation: just have a look at the schoolboy howler from Kusal Mendis in the deep. Malinga and Mathews did far worse trying to cut off the ball inside the ring; it intersected them and raced to the boundary.
Afghanistan’s lack of firepower in their middle and lower-order contributed to their downfall. Getting their first points on the board can merely be the calm before the storm that awaits this slapdash Sri Lankan unit. As their former captain Kumar Sangakkara pointed out after the game, Karunaratne and Co barely had anything to write home about despite the win.
Tougher assignments like the New Zealand outing await them. However, Perera can hold his head high in a game that saw both teams compete hard in outdoing each other in committing silly errors.
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