Srilankan batsmen Tillakaratne Dilshan’s unbeaten 83 helped Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan by six wickets in their World T20 game on Thursday.
Dilshan hit eight fours and three sixes off 56 balls to guide Sri Lanka to 155-4 in reply to Afghanistan's 153-7.
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Dilshan and Dinesh Chandimal (18) combined to open with 41 off 5.2 overs but Sri Lanka struggled to build big partnerships.
At one point, it seemed it will be a close call for Srilanka in the end after their middle-order collapsed fairly quickly, but once captain Angelo Mathews joined Dilshan, they ensured a smooth ending with seven balls to spare.
Mathews’ 21 not out off 10 balls with three fours and one six, gave boost to Dilshan’s unbeaten 42-run stand.
"They had some quality bowlers but we managed well in the middle with twos and threes," Dilshan said. "The senior guys need to stand up and do it for the team. The middle order can bat around us."
Earlier, Afghanistan which elected to batfirst, got off to a slow start against Srilankan bowling attacked and at 10 overs were merely 47-3. But then captain Asghar Stanikzai delivered a spectacular performance of 62 runs in 47 balls with three fours and four sixes. It was his third T20 half-century and his highest in 33 games.
Giving him support was Samiullah Shenwari (31) as they added 61 off 5.3 overs for the fifth wicket, with Shenwari striking three fours and two sixes in his 14-ball cameo.
Stanikzai, who was dropped by Mathews off Nuwan Kulasekara on 44, hit two consecutive sixes off left-arm spinner Siriwardana - over deep mid-wicket and long on.
"The total was good but Dilshan played really well," Stanikzai said. "He took responsibility and played well. Our fielding wasn't good but we will try our best (in the tournament)."
Pace bowler Thisara Perera (3-33) and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath (2-24) were the main wicket-takers for Sri Lanka.
