Opener Tillakaratne Dilshan smacked an unbeaten 83 off 56 balls to steer defending champions Sri Lanka to a six-wicket win over a spirited Afghanistan in the World Twenty20 yesterday.
Dilshan, 39, hit three sixes and eight fours as Sri Lanka overpowered Afghanistan’s 153-7 with seven balls to spare in their opening group match at the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata.
Afghanistan, the only non-Test team left in the fray, paid the price for some sloppy fielding after an impressive effort with the bat that saw skipper Asghar Stanikzai make a fine 47-ball 62. Dilshan gave Sri Lanka a flying start, smacking fast bowler Dawlat Zadran for two sixes on the trot, including one that came off his famous ‘Dilscoop’ shot which typically sails over the wicketkeeper’s head.
Off-spinner Mohamed Nabi briefly put the brakes on Sri Lanka by dismissing opener Dinesh Chandimal for 18, before 17-year-old leg-spinner Rashid Khan accounted for Lahiru Thirimanne (six). Wicket-keeper Mohamed Shahzad then sent back Thisara Perera with a direct throw at the stumps as Sri Lanka slipped to 85-3, but Dilshan held his nerve to ensure a smooth finish for his side in the end.  Earlier, Stanikzai led his side by example while Samiullah Shenwari chipped in with a handy 31 to help Afghanistan recover from a shaky 51-4.     
Paceman Thisara Perera picked up 3-33 in an otherwise disappointing show by the Sri Lankan bowlers who let the Afghans off the hook after a promising start.  New Sri Lankan T20 captain Angelo Mathews gave the islanders the key breakthrough by having in-form opener Shahzad caught at mid-on for eight.
Shahzad, who came into the match with a top-score of 61 in the qualifiers, lobbed an easy catch to Dushmantha Chameera as he tried to pull to the legside.  Shahzad’s opening partner Noor Ali Zadran smacked paceman Nuwan Kulasekara for two boundaries in a row before being bowled by Rangana Herath (2-24) for a 23-ball 20.
SCORECARD
Afghanistan:
Mohamed Shahzad c Chameera b Mathews    8
Noor Ali Zadran b Herath     20
Asghar Stanikzai c Chandimal b Perera    62
Karim Sadiq c Chandimal b Perera    0
Mohamed Nabi lbw b Herath     3
Samiullah Shenwari c Perera b Kulasekara         31
Shafiqullah c Thirimanne b Perera    5
Dawlat Zadran not out     5
Najibullah Zadran not out     12
Extras (b1, w6)     7
Total (for 7 wickets, 20 overs)     153
Did not bat: Rashid Khan, Hamid Hassan
Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Shahzad), 2-44 (Noor Ali Zadran), 3-46 (Sadiq), 4-51 (Nabi), 5-112 (Shenwari), 6-132 (Shafiqullah), 7-136 (Stanikzai)
Bowling: Mathews 3-0-17-1 (w2), Kulasekara 4-0-43-1 (w1), Chameera 4-0-19-0 (w2), Herath 4-0-24-2 (w1), Perera 4-0-33-3, Siriwardana 1-0-16-0
Sri Lanka:
D. Chandimal c Shafiqullah b Nabi    18
T. Dilshan not out     83
L. Thirimanne b Khan     6
T. Perera run out    12
C. Kapugedera run out     10
A. Mathews not out    21
Extras (b4, w1)     5
Total (for 4 wkts, 18.5 overs)     155
Did not bat: Siriwardana, Jayasuriya, Kulasekara, Chameera, Herath
Fall of wickets: 1-41 (Chandimal), 2-58 (Thirimanne), 3-85 (Perera), 4-113 (Kapugedera)
Bowling: Sadiq 2-0-21-0, Hassan 3.5-0-38-0, Dawlat Zadran 3-0-31-0 (w1), Nabi 4-1-25-1, Rashid Khan 4-0-27-1, Samiullah 2-0-9-0
Result: Sri Lanka win by six wickets
Toss: Afghanistan
Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK) and Bruce Oxenford (AUS)
TV Umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)