Afghanistan, unaware that it still had three balls to meet the Super 4 qualification criteria against Sri Lanka, botched a run chase at the Gaddafi International Stadium in Lahore on Tuesday.
The initial communication from the broadcasters mentioned that Afghanistan needed to chase 292 in 37.1 overs to make it to the next stage of the continental showpiece.
However, as Dunith Wellalage had Mujeeb Ur Rahman dismissed off the first ball of the 38th over, the Afghanistan dugout sunk into despair, seemingly trying to come to terms with the fact that the side had been shown the exit door.
Shortly after though, it was made known that the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side could still make the business end, given it hammers a maximum off the next three deliveries.
With the scoreboard stuck at 289, the No 11 batter Fazalhaq Farooqi went on to block the next two deliveries to the horror of the commentators and the thousands of fans who had come to watch its team play.
Rashid Khan, stranded at the non-striker’s end, too seemed ignorant of the new equation. Off the last ball, Farooqi got out LBW as Afghanistan got bowled out for 289 and lost the match by two runs.
After the match, the experts in broadcast confirmed after talking to a few players that the team wasn’t aware of the new scenario.
Sri Lanka qualified for the Super Four after the win along with Bangladesh from Group B.
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