Afghanistan's chase strategy revealed through dugout whiteboard, find 13 runs short in 20th over

In the high-stakes ongoing match between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in the Cricket World Cup, Afghanistan found themselves facing a daunting chase of 241 runs. As the camera panned over the Afghanistan dugout during the 18.5 over mark, viewers caught a glimpse of a meticulously planned strategy written on a whiteboard. 

According to the calculations displayed on the whiteboard, Afghanistan needed to achieve 50 runs in the first 10 overs, 100 runs in 20 overs, 150 runs in 30 overs, and 200 runs in 40 overs, leading up to the ultimate winning target of 242 runs by the 48th over. These incremental targets were designed to guide the team's batting strategy and ensure a methodical pursuit of the total score.

However, despite the initial positive start, with Afghanistan reaching 50-1 by the end of the 10th over, the team faced a setback by the 20th over, with the score at 87-2. This deviation from the projected target trajectory highlighted the challenges and uncertainties that can arise during a high-pressure match. The Asian team riding high on confidence would hope to get another win under their belt. 

Afghanistan triumph in controlled fashion

Although Afghanistan could not get over the line in the 42nd over as they had hoped for, they did win the match. With 28 balls to spare, Azmatullah Omarzai played a brilliant inning of 73* to lead Afghanistan to a special win in the ODI World Cup 2023. Hashmatullah Shahidi played an incredible partner role to take their team to a 7-wicket win with a steady 58 off 74.

This win takes Afghanistan above Sri Lanka in the points table. With 6 points in 6 matches, Afghanistan now sit comfortably at 5th in the ODI World Cup points table. Sri Lanka meanwhile linger at 6th with just 4 points and are all but out of the ODI World Cup 2023. Afghanistan play the Netherlands next whereas Sri Lanka will face India in their next match.