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Former Indian players Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh danced joyfully after Afghanistan registered a comfortable win against Sri Lanka in the 2023 World Cup match on Monday, October 30.
It was the Afghan team's third win in the tournament, as they already beat England and Pakistan. They have now defeated the 2019, 1992, and 1996 World Cup winners.
A collective effort from bowlers and batters helped them secure a clinical win against Sri Lanka. The bowlers did the groundwork in the first innings by restricting the Lankans to 241 in 49.3 overs.
Left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi led the way with a 4-wicket haul, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman picked up 2 wickets. The batters then went about the business professionally in the chase and scaled down 242 in 45.2 overs without any turbulences.
Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh applauded the Afghan team for their spirited performance in the World Cup and celebrated their win by dancing together. Pathan gave a glimpse of it by sharing a video on his official Instagram handle. He captioned:
"What a great win from Afghans. Many congratulations on your 3rd win. Beating 3 former world champions 👏 #afghanistan #worldcup
You can watch the video below:
"It's good that we have three wins in the tournament" - Afghanistan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi after winning the Player of the Match award vs Sri Lanka
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Player of the Match award winner Fazalhaq Farooqi expressed gratitude to God. Reflecting on his and the team's performance. Fazal said:
"Thanks to God for the performance. It's good that we have three wins in the tournament and happy to contribute to the win. I was looking for swing in the first few balls but I realised there was no swing I went back to hitting the right areas and that was the plan all through the day and that is how I got all the success."
He continued:
"We have given so many runs in the last over, we have been working really hard in the next trying to bowl well in the death overs. I tried to stick to my basics and try and bowl most of the variations as possible."
Afghanistan will next face the Netherlands team in the 2023 World Cup on November 3 in Lucknow.
