Watch: The Sri Lanka-Afghanistan match at the Asia Cup produced a finish for the ages, with the former edging a thriller by two runs to qualify for the Super Fours stage.
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A look at the scorecard reveals a close game, but will also be confusing at first glance, Afghanistan all out and leaving more than 12 overs unused. The game, however, was not really a 50-over one. Instead, 37.1 was the key number for Afghanistan, or one of the key numbers at least.
With Sri Lanka beating Bangladesh and Bangladesh beating Afghanistan, a win for Afghanistan would see all three sides tied on two points, and progression decided on Net Run Rate. When Sri Lanka put up 291 in their first innings, the spreadsheets revealed that Afghanistan would be guaranteed progression if they chased down the target within 37.1 overs.
Mohammad Nabi inspired a resurgence, smashing Afghanistan’s fastest ODI fifty, and after he fell, Rashid Khan and Najibullah Zadran carried on the charge. The pair scored boundaries freely, but when Mujeeb Ur Rahman fell to the first ball of the 38th over, with three needed to win, it seemed at first as if Afghanistan’s chance had gone.
However, the vagaries of Net Run Rate meant they still had a chance – if they finished the game with a four or a six, they would effectively have an extra delivery, or several, in which to complete the game.
After the game, it transpired that Afghanistan were not aware of this fact, which explained Fazalhaq Farooqi blocking and blocking, rather than attempting to find the rope. It was Sri Lanka who wrapped up victory when he was pinned lbw.
