Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan by 6 wickets on Thursday, September 18, to qualify for the Super 4s of the ongoing Asia Cup 2025.
In the Group B match played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Sri Lanka rode on a half-century from Kusal Mendis (74) to chase down the target of 170 runs in 18.4 overs.
Sri Lanka won all three matches played in Group B to finish as table toppers.
Afghanistan finished third in the points table, and as a result, they are out of the tournament now.
The Rashid Khan-led side needed a win on Thursday to pip Bangladesh and qualify for the Super 4s, but they failed to achieve the objective.
Bangladesh is the second team from Group B to qualify for the Super 4s. The Litton Das-led side won two out of three Group B matches.
In the first Super 4s match of Asia Cup 2025, Sri Lanka will now face Bangladesh in Dubai on Saturday, September 20.
India and Pakistan have qualified for the Super 4s from Group A, but their final position is yet to be decided. If India manage to get the better of Oman in their third and final Group A match at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Friday, September 19, then the Suryakumar Yadav-led side will finish as table toppers for Group A.
If India finish as Group A table toppers, then they will face Pakistan in the Super 4s match on Sunday, September 21; Bangladesh on Wednesday (September 24); and Sri Lanka in Dubai on Friday (September 26).
For Sri Lanka, apart from Mendis, pacer Nuwan Thushara impressed with his bowling on Thursday. The 31-year-old pacer bowled four overs and picked up 4 wickets for 18 runs.
Source: News18
–Agencies
