Sri Lanka thrash Afghanistan by 68 runs to win gold medal at Asian Games 2014

Oct 3, 2014

Sri Lanka thrashed Afghanistan by 68 runs in the Asian Games 2014 final at Incheon on Friday. Afghanistan batsmen fared miserably in chase of 134 and were bundled out for just 65. Lahiru Thirimanne was the star of the match for Sri Lanka scoring 57 in an otherwise ordinary batting performance from the Sri Lankans.

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The Lankans had won the toss and elected to bat. They were jolted early in the innings with Upul Tharanga dismissed in the second over. However a 72-run stand between Thirimanne and skipper Dinesh Chandimal shifted the momentum of the game. But Chandimal and Thirimanne were dismissed in a span of two overs. Thirimanne had scored a sparkling fifty but the rest of the Lankan batting caved in and were bowled out for 133.

Mohammad Nabi was pick of the bowler for Afghanistan with four for 18. In response, Najeeb tarkai gave a brisk start to Afghanistan but their wickets tumbled faster the Lankans’. Two consecutive maiden overs and three wickets saw them slip from 20 for no loss to 20 for three. From thereon, there was hardly any noteworthy contributions. Leg-spinner Jeevan Mendis bagged three for 18 and other bowlers too pocketed a few wickets.

Brief scores:

Sri Lanka 133 in 19,1 overs (Lahiru Thirimanne 57; Mohammad Nabi 4 for 18) beat Afghanistan 65 in 17.4 overs (Najeeb Tarkai 17; Jeevan Mendis 3 for 13) by 68 runs.

Catch complete coverage of Asian Games 2014 here