Afghanistan A suffered its first defeat of the A Teams Tri-Nation Series on Saturday, losing to Sri Lanka A by eight wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, days after opening the tournament with a victory over India A.
Playing in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan A posted 245 all out in 49.4 overs after being sent in to bat first by Sri Lanka A, which won the toss and elected to field.
Hassan Eisakhil led Afghanistan’s batting effort with 46 runs, while Baheer Shah contributed 44. Farmanullah Safi added 35 and Mohammad Ishaq scored 30 as Afghanistan recovered from a shaky start to set a competitive target.
Sri Lanka A, however, made light work of the chase, reaching 231 for 2 in 28.1 overs before rain brought the match to an end. With the hosts comfortably ahead of the revised DLS target, they were awarded victory by eight wickets.
Farmanullah Safi was the only successful Afghanistan bowler, claiming 2 wickets for 40 runs from his 5.1 overs.
The defeat came after Afghanistan A began its campaign with a notable four-run DLS victory over India A earlier in the week.
In that match, Afghanistan A chased a revised target after rain interruptions, with captain Imran Mir scoring an unbeaten 75 and Baheer Shah adding an unbeaten 51 in a match-winning partnership. The victory marked Afghanistan A’s first win of the tournament and provided an early boost to its campaign.
Against Sri Lanka A, Afghanistan made one change to the side that defeated India, bringing in Shams Ur Rahman in place of Mohammad Ibrahim Sharifi.
Despite the loss, Afghanistan A remains in contention in the tri-series, which also features India A and Sri Lanka A.
The tournament serves as an important development platform for emerging players seeking to break into Afghanistan’s senior national team.
Afghanistan A will now look to bounce back in its remaining matches as it continues its campaign in the tri-nation competition.
