Wanindu Hasaranga dazzled with the ball and Dhananjaya de Silva shone with the bat as Sri Lanka crushed Afghanistan by six wickets at the T20 World Cup to bolster their semi-final hopes.

After defeats to Australia and New Zealand, Sri Lanka could not afford another slip-up and produced a commanding performance at the Gabba.

Afghanistan were limited to 144-8, in which six batters reached double figures, but nobody went further than Rahmanullah Gurbaz's 28 at the top of the order.

That was in a large part down to man of the match Hasaranga's wily leg spin that brought him brilliant figures of 3-13, including the wickets of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the final over.

Sri Lanka were 46-2 after 7.5 overs of their reply, but Dhananjaya was in no mood to let this one slip away, and his sublime unbeaten 66 from 42 balls saw the team home.

He cracked two sixes and six fours, including the boundary through cover that saw Sri Lanka over the winning line with nine balls to spare, reaching 148-4, nicely teeing up their final Group 1 game against England at the SCG on Saturday.

Hail Hasaranga

Already the leading performer with the ball in this year's tournament, Hasaranga's haul improved his tally to 13 wickets, and trimmed his average to 13.53.

This time around he delivered 12 dot balls and avoided being struck for a boundary as Afghanistan struggled to read him, defeat ending their hopes of going any further.

Mujeeb edges nearer landmark

Mujeeb Ur Rahman took 2-24 for Afghanistan, removing Pathum Nissanka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, to reach 48 wickets in T20Is. After washouts against Ireland and New Zealand, he and his team-mates would have been glad to play some part in a contest on Tuesday.

Now off-spinner Mujeeb has one more chance while at this tournament to become the third Afghanistan bowler to reach 50 T20I wickets, with Afghanistan rounding off their campaign against hosts Australia on Friday in Adelaide.

Ireland and Afghanistan were beaten by the weather as their T20 World Cup clash at the MCG was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

The Group 1 fixture was hit by rain in Melbourne, a familiar experience for an Afghanistan team who suffered the same fate when their match against New Zealand at the same ground went the same way on Wednesday.

The no-result outcome left Afghanistan bottom of the group and at least briefly nudged Ireland up to second place, ahead of the scheduled match between England and Australia at the same ground later on Friday.

Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi said: "Most of the players are disappointed to not be playing in such a fantastic ground."

Ireland skipper Andy Balbirnie, whose side upset England in their second game, added: "We'd played some good cricket the other night and were looking forward to this fixture against a team we know pretty well. We can't do anything about the weather. We've just got two more games to give it our best to try to get into the semis."

New Zealand and Afghanistan were washed out in their second game of the T20 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The two sides failed to even get onto the wicket after the bad weather that forced a premature end to England's DLS-assisted defeat to Ireland at the same venue stuck around.

With not even a single ball bowled, the two teams both receive a point, which moves New Zealand top outright in Group 1 and gets Afghanistan off the mark.

The former had thrashed hosts Australia in an 89-run rout on Saturday to start their tournament off, while the latter had been downed by England in a five-wicket loss the same day.

No result hands a lifeline in particular to England, who face Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka with just one win under their belt following their shock loss on Wednesday.

The Black Caps will next play Sri Lanka in Sydney, while Afghanistan will remain in Melbourne to face Ireland.

Sam Curran became England's first bowler to take five wickets in a T20I and wants to keep his sizzling form going deep into the World Cup.

The left-arm seamer snaffled stunning figures of 5-10 from 3.4 overs, claiming four wickets from his final six balls as Afghanistan were bowled out for 112 before England started with a five-wicket win at Perth Stadium on Saturday.

Curran also caught the eye in a recent 2-0 win over hosts Australia and the all-rounder is revelling having the opportunity to play a key role.

"To come here and start with a win was obviously great, and Ireland on Wednesday will be another tricky game so we'll prepare well for that, fly to Melbourne tomorrow, and go again," Curran said at the post-match presentation.

"I'm just trying to be as adaptable as possible. Early in my career I was probably more suited to the powerplay, but I've tried to get better at different phases of the game. I'm really enjoying my cricket at the moment."

Assessing his five-wicket haul, Curran said: "You've got to enjoy the days when it goes well, and hopefully it goes well for the next five or six games."

Curran was sporting a trimmer haircut than usual, and he told Sky Sports: "The barber yesterday went a little bit short, so hopefully in a couple of games it'll grow out a bit, but I'll take some stick from my mates."

England might have hoped to finish this match in a little more style, with the top three batters each getting to double figures but failing to go on. 

Liam Livingstone's unbeaten 29 provided the impetus at the end of the innings to get the job done, moving England level on points with New Zealand after they hammered Australia.

"You saw the way the Afghanistan team made it quite tricky towards the end," Curran said. "We knew they had world-class spinners in the middle there and it was just nice to get the first victory over the line."

England took all of Afghanistan's wickets with catches, the first time 10 have gone down in a T20 World Cup game in such a manner.

"We really worked on our fielding over the last couple of weeks," said Curran. "We know it's going to be a huge factor in the tournament."

Sam Curran proved a cut above as England launched their T20 World Cup challenge with a five-wicket win against Afghanistan.

Curran took 5-10 from 3.4 overs at Perth Stadium on Saturday, a haul that included four wickets in six balls spread across his final two overs to become the first England bowler to take five wickets in a T20I.

Afghanistan crumbled to 112 all out as Curran tore through their lower order, with England reaching the victory target in 18.1 overs to move level on points with New Zealand in Group 1.

Left-arm seamer Curran was excellent with the ball in a recent series win over Australia and made another big impact in an Afghanistan innings that never got going.

Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali held excellent catches for Jos Buttler's side, before Curran took centre stage. Mark Wood (2-23) and Ben Stokes (2-19) also impressed with the ball in a strong start for England.

Ibrahim Zadran top scored with 32 for Afghanistan, while England had four batters in double figures, Livingstone finishing with an unbeaten 29.

Classy Curran

Curran's previous best T20I bowling performance was the 3-25 he took against Australia just 10 days prior to this match. His economy rate of 2.72 in this five-star performance was his meanest in the short format, and he told Fox Sports: "At the start of the game, I did not expect to be walking off like that."

The all-rounder bowled 16 dot balls and conceded just one boundary, putting the squeeze on and reaping the rewards.

England record haul shows catches win matches

As Afghanistan fell short with the bat and dropped catches in the field, England's sharp fielding effort meant this was the first time in a T20 World Cup match that all 10 dismissals in an innings were catches.

The result also means England have won all three of their T20Is against Afghanistan, each meeting coming at World T20 level, at the 2012 and 2016 editions.

Sussex seamer Tymal Mills has been called up by England for the T20 World Cup following confirmation Reece Topley will miss the tournament through injury.

The Surrey bowler had been a doubt for the opener with Afghanistan on Saturday, before reports emerged this week he could pull out entirely.

Now, it has been confirmed he will fly home following a scan in Perth on Tuesday that revealed more serious ligament damage in his left ankle than initially feared.

It opens the door for Mills, a member of the England squad at last year’s T20 World Cup, to return to the fold after having only previously made the reserve cut.

He is handed the nod ahead of fellow understudy Richard Gleeson, with his left-arm approach a nearer direct match for the departing Topley.

Lancashire's Luke Wood meanwhile will now travel to Australia to join England as a travelling reserve following Mills' promotion to the full squad.

Reece Topley is set to be ruled out of the T20 World Cup, which would leave England without one of their leading bowlers in the shortest format.

The 28-year-old was originally listed as an injury doubt for England's first game of the competition against Afghanistan on Saturday.

But according to widespread reports, an assessment of his ankle injury has revealed a more serious problem than initially hoped, with Topley found to have sustained ligament damage.

Left-arm paceman Topley rolled his ankle during a fielding drill ahead of Monday's warm-up win over Pakistan at the Gabba.

The blow for Topley comes after he made an impressive return to the international stage following fears his career could be over due to back injuries.

He played in all three of England's matches in the recent T20I series win over Australia, having featured in four of the seven games in the 4-3 victory in Pakistan.

With 17 wickets, he is the team's leading wicket taker in T20Is in 2022, and his bowling at the end of the innings has been particularly impressive.

England cannot confirm the news until the ICC has ratified Topley's replacement, with fellow left-armer Tymal Mills and right-arm seamer Richard Gleeson among the reserves who have travelled with England.

Jos Buttler's side will go into their Group 1 opener as strong favourites to defeat Afghanistan at Perth Stadium.

England will face a qualifier in their second World Cup match next Wednesday, then take on hosts Australia two days later.

Reece Topley is an injury doubt for England's first game of the T20 World Cup against Afghanistan on Saturday.

The left-arm paceman rolled his ankle during a fielding drill ahead of Monday's warm-up win over Pakistan at the Gabba.

Topley will be assessed before Jos Buttler's side take on Afghanistan in their Group 1 opener at Perth Stadium.

England will face a qualifier in their second World Cup match next Wednesday, then face hosts Australia two days later.

The quick has made an impressive return to the international stage after fears his career could be over due to back injuries.

Topley played in all three of England's matches in the recent T20I series win over Australia, having featured in four of the seven games in the 4-3 victory in Pakistan.

 

It has been a long time coming but the T20 World Cup will finally get under way in Australia on Sunday.

Two years later than scheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tournament will start with Sri Lanka taking on Namibia at Kardinia Park followed by the United Arab Emirates versus the Netherlands at the same venue on Sunday.

There will be six days of qualifying matches to decide which four teams will go through to the Super 12, which starts with a repeat of last year's final between holders Australia and New Zealand on October 22.

You could make a case for several teams being strong contenders to lift the trophy at the MCG on November 13.

Stats Perform picks out some of the storylines to look out for in a tournament that will be well worth the wait.

 

Windies and Sri Lanka should avoid shock early exit

The only team to have won the T20 World Cup twice is West Indies, but they failed to secure direct qualification for the Super 12 on this occasion.

They lost four out of five matches as defending champions in the United Arab Emirates last year, a crushing six-wicket defeat to England setting the tone as they were skittled out for a pitiful 55.

Nicholas Pooran's side will face Scotland, Zimbabwe, Ireland at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart and will be expected to advance from Group B.

Sri Lanka were crowned Asia Cup champions last month and ought to have no trouble in advancing from a Group A that also includes the Netherlands, the UAE and Namibia.

On a high from lifting the trophy in Dubai, Dasun Shanaka's men could be dangerous if they made it through to the Super 12 as expected.

 

Hosts in quest to make history

Australia ended their wait for a first T20 World Cup title in Dubai last year at the expense of the Black Caps, Mitchell Marsh blasting an unbeaten 77 in the final to seal an eight-wicket win.

No team has won back-to-back T20 World Cup titles, so the hosts have an opportunity to make history on home soil.

Tim David has emerged as another potential match-winner that has bolted his way into the squad and he is capable of making a big impact, while big things will be expected from the likes of David Warner with the bat.

Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins are a formidable pace trio and leg-spinner Adam Zampa brings an X-Factor. Australia have a great chance of achieving a feat no other side has accomplished.

Can India make amends?

India were strongly fancied to win the rearranged T20 World Cup last year, but their challenge was all-but over soon after it had started.

They were consigned to a 10-wicket thrashing by fierce rivals in Pakistan in their first match and still looked shellshocked when New Zealand hammered them by eight wickets.

Virat Kohli stepped down as captain after that failure, with Rohit Sharma the skipper of what is another star-studded squad.

The loss of paceman Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to injury were huge blows, but India will be expected to mount a strong challenge as the top-ranked side in the world and batter Suryakumar Yadav can make a big impact.

Buttler to deliver in first tournament as skipper?

England looked unstoppable in the World Cup last year until they were knocked out by New Zealand at the semi-final stage.

Jos Buttler has since taken over as captain after Eoin Morgan retired from international cricket, and Matthew Mott was appointed as head coach.

Buttler has recovered from injury for what will be his first tournament as skipper and will look to produce the sort of form he did in the 2021 World Cup, in which he averaged a staggering 89.66.

England have huge firepower with the bat, while Reece Topley, Mark Wood and Adil Rashid are among the bowlers Buttler will be counting on to step up as they strive to lift the trophy for a second time.

 

Proteas a force to be reckoned with

South Africa have never been beyond the semi-final of a T20 World Cup, but there is every chance this could be their year.

Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje are a hostile trio of pace bowlers and they also have the wizardry of spinner Tabraiz Shamsi.

The absence of Rassie van der Dussen is a big loss, but the Proteas are not short of explosive batting with the likes of Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Rillee Rossouw and Tristan Stubbs to call upon.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Virat Kohli impressed on either side of the ball as India ended their poor Asia Cup campaign with a resounding 101-run win over Afghanistan on Thursday.

India's thrilling six-wicket loss to Sri Lanka on Tuesday left their Super Four qualification hopes in ruins, but they took out any frustrations on their hapless opponents to end a dire title defence on a positive note in Dubai.

Skipper KL Rahul (62) and the outstanding Kohli, who required just 61 balls to bring up his mammoth haul of 122, led India to a scintillating start after they were put in to bat.

Afghanistan claimed the wickets of Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav (six) in quick succession in the 12th over, but were unable to build on those dismissals as India raced to a strong target of 212.

But Afghanistan's struggles with the ball were nothing compared to what was to follow with the bat; Kumar removed opening duo Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz for ducks within the first over, and added three more wickets before the end of the sixth.

Deepak Hooda, Arshdeep Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin then got in on the act with a wicket apiece as Afghanistan were limited to just 111 runs at the end of a chastening outing.

Kohli scales new heights

Kohli's unbeaten 122 is the highest score managed by an Indian player in men's T20 internationals, overtaking Rohit Sharma's 118 against Sri Lanka in December 2017.

While Kohli will be disappointed with India's failure to reach the Asia Cup final, he will no doubt be relieved at ending a long wait for a 71st century in international cricket; he last did so 1,020 days ago, against Bangladesh in November 2019.

Kumar on fire as Afghanistan collapse

India had a star at either end of the crease on Thursday, with Kumar bringing up a remarkable five-wicket haul to continue his excellent form.

Kumar has now taken 31 wickets in T20Is in 2022, surpassing India's previous record across a calendar year (Jasprit Bumrah's 28 in 2016).

Former England batter Jonathan Trott has replaced Graham Thorpe as Afghanistan head coach. 

Thorpe took the role with Afghanistan in March, just two months after being dismissed from his job as an assistant coach with England following another Ashes thrashing against Australia. 

The 52-year-old fell seriously ill only two months after his appointment, with Raees Khan operating on an interim basis. 

But the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) have made a permanent appointment by offering Trott his first senior head coach role on Friday. 

"I'm honoured and excited to have the opportunity to take one of international cricket's most exciting teams through what is a huge year for their development as a team," he said in an ACB statement. 

"I can't wait to get to work with a group of players who are clearly capable of generating results in a style that will make the people of Afghanistan proud." 

Trott will begin his tenure with the five-match T20I series in Ireland in August before the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and the second T20 World Cup in as many years in Australia between October and November. 

The 41-year-old has previous experience working alongside Mark Robinson as Warwickshire's assistant coach, before being a batting coach with England, England Lions and Scotland. 

Former middle-order batter Trott has also worked with Trent Rockets in England's domestic competition The Hundred and operated as part of Kent's backroom staff. 

During his playing career, Trott appeared in 52 Tests for England and scored 3,835 runs at an average of 44.1, including nine centuries and a high score of 226. 

He also played in 68 ODIs, amassing 2,819 runs at an average of 51.3 with four hundreds and 22 half-centuries, and made seven appearances in T20Is. 

Former England batsman Graham Thorpe is in hospital after falling seriously ill, the Professional Cricketers’ Association have confirmed on behalf of his family.

The 52-year-old was appointed as head coach of Afghanistan in March after his departure from the England set-up following the winter Ashes series defeat.

A prolific left-handed batsman who represented England across both Test and ODI formats, Thorpe is one of just 15 players to make over a hundred Test matches for the country.

"Graham Thorpe has recently fallen seriously ill and is currently in hospital receiving treatment," read an official PCA statement.

"His prognosis is unclear at this stage and we ask for privacy for him and his family at this time. Our thoughts are with Graham and his family."

A middle-order batsman and slip fielder, Thorpe spent his entire county career with Surrey, where he made his debut in 1988.

He made his Test debut in 1993 with a second innings century against Australia at Trent Bridge, and went on to become a fixture in the squad over the next decade.

Thorpe retired from international cricket in 2005, before also hanging up his bat a few months later at domestic level.

He worked in the media before joining the England coaching set-up in 2010, where he remained until earlier this year.

Graham Thorpe has been appointed as head coach of the Afghanistan national cricket team, less than two months after leaving his role with England.

Thorpe was assistant coach with England until early February when he was part of the post-Ashes exodus that also saw head coach Chris Silverwood and managing director Ashley Giles moved on after the 4-0 humbling by Australia.

The 52-year-old enjoyed an impressive playing career for his country, scoring 6,744 runs in 100 Test matches at an average of 44.66 with the bat before retiring in 2005.

A statement on the official Afghanistan Cricket Board's website on Tuesday confirmed the appointment, saying: "Former English middle-order batter Graham Thorpe has been named as the new head coach of our national men’s cricket team.

"He will step up into the role of head coach ahead of the upcoming international events of Afghanistan.

"After his tenure as a cricketer, Thorpe took to coaching roles at different levels, the biggest of them being the batting coach for the English National team from April 2011 to September 2019.

"He has worked with all the England players across international formats, completed six England Lions tours and 12 England senior men's tours.

"He has also worked as a lead batting coach with World Cup Winner England Team during the 2019 Cricket World Cup."

Thorpe's first games in charge will be close to home as Afghanistan are scheduled to tour Ireland in July and August.

New Zealand qualified for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup with an eight-wicket win over Afghanistan, who have been eliminated along with India in the process.

India needed Afghanistan to beat the Black Caps, before also having to beat Namibia themselves, but it was not to be as victory for Kane Williamson's men sees them progress from Group 2 along with Pakistan, with England and Australia already through from Group 1.

Any other outcome rarely looked likely in Abu Dhabi as Afghanistan got off to a cumbersome start in their innings, only managing 23 runs for the loss of three wickets during the powerplay.

Najibullah Zadran was the only batsman to impress, hitting 73 from 48 balls including six boundaries and three sixes, before being caught by Jimmy Neesham off the bowling of Trent Boult.

Boult was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers with 3-17, though Tim Southee (2-24) became the second all-time leading wicket taker for the Black Caps in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup history as Afghanistan were limited to 124-8.

A fast start for New Zealand saw 26 runs come from the first three overs, only for Daryl Mitchell (17) to fall from the first ball of the fourth over, caught behind off the bowling of Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Rashid Khan, who had already made history in the tournament by taking 100 wickets in T20Is in the fewest innings (53), clinched his 400th wicket in the format, clean bowling Martin Guptill for 28.

Despite that minor setback, New Zealand eases to victory, with Williamson (four) and Devon Conway (36) knocking off the remainder of the total.

Najibullah effort in vain

At times it felt like a one-man-innings from Afghanistan, with Najibullah hitting 73 of their 124 runs himself. Without him, it is doubtful his team-mates would have reached three figures.

Najibullah ended the tournament as his team's top scorer, knocking 172 runs in his five innings.

Williamson gets everything right

The New Zealand captain knew how crucial victory was here, and followed up a superb innings for his team in the field by calmly seeing them home with the bat to book their place in the semi-finals.

Williamson and Conway were happy to score around a run a ball, taking no risks and comfortably reaching the modest target set by Afghanistan. The Black Caps have now won each of their last four T20 World Cup matches; the only other time they have enjoyed a four-match winning run at the tournament was in March 2016.

Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul made rapid half-centuries as India belatedly got their T20 World Cup campaign up and running with a 66-run defeat of Afghanistan.

Back-to-back hammerings at the hands of fierce rivals Pakistan and New Zealand left India's hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals hanging by a thread.

The pre-tournament favourites needed an emphatic win over Afghanistan to keep themselves in contention, and they finally delivered on a good wicket at Zayed Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Rohit, back at the top of the order after dropping down to number three against the Black Caps, smashed 74 from 47 balls, and Rahul made a brilliant 69 off 48 as India racked up 210-2 – the biggest total of the tournament.

Rohit and Rahul combined for India's record opening T20 World Cup stand of 140 and the seventh-highest by any side in the history of the tournament, laying the platform for a huge victory in Abu Dhabi.

Hardik Pandya (35 not out) and Rishabh Pant (27no) added insult to injury after Rohit and Rahul fell to Karim Janat and Gulbadin Naib respectively.

Afghanistan, playing their first game since Asghar Afghan retired, fell well short on 144-7 in reply, Ravichandran Ashwin taking 2-14 in his hugely impressive long-awaited T20I return and Mohammed Shami claiming 3-32.

Janat made a quickfire unbeaten 42 and Mohammad Nabi (35) also held India up, but second-placed Afghanistan's semi-finals bid suffered a big setback.

Rahul Dravid was confirmed as India's next head coach while the team went about cruising to a victory that boosted their net run-rate to +0.073, but New Zealand are favourites to qualify from Group 2 alongside Pakistan.

Rohit and Rahul cut loose

India's batsmen had failed to fire in heavy losses to Pakistan and New Zealand, but Rohit and Rahul showed what they are capable of as they resumed their partnership with Ishan Kishan dropping out.

Rohit struck three sixes and found the rope eight times, while Rahul hit two maximums and another six boundaries as he scored a first T20I half-century since last December following eight knocks without one.

Ashwin back in business

All-rounder Ashwin was selected for his first T20I since way back in July 2017, and he made his mark with the ball.

The spinner trapped Gulbadin in his second over and bowled Najibullah Zadran with a delivery that drifted in. Ashwin did not concede a boundary and bowled 12 dot balls in his four overs.

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