Dhananjaya de Silva struck an unbeaten 66 as Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan by six wickets on Tuesday at the Gabba in Brisbane, maintaining their tenuous Twenty20 World Cup ambitions.
The defending Asia Cup winners are already four points ahead of the competition in Group 1, and they still have a chance to go to the semifinals.
After Australia defeated Ireland on Monday to go even on five points at the top but behind the Black Caps on net run rate, the leaders of Group 1 New Zealand were scheduled to face England, who have three points, in a later game at the Gabba on Tuesday.
Afghanistan lost, eliminating them from the tournament because they had two washouts and an initial loss to England. They still had one group match against Australia.
Afghanistan’s captain Mohammad Nabi won the toss and elected to bat, but Sri Lanka limited them to 144-8, partly due to a strong spell from leg-spinner and player of the match Wanindu Hasaranga.
When Mujeeb Ur Rahman swung one back to dismiss Pathum Nissanka for 10, the Sri Lankan run chase got off to a bad start.
