TM Dilshan stars in Sri Lanka’s win over Afghanistan – Asghar Stanikzai’s captain’s knock in vain
16th Match, Super 10 Group 1: Afghanistan v Sri Lanka at Kolkata – Mar 17, 2016 – Afghanistan 153/7 (20/20 ov); Sri Lanka 155/4 (18.5/20 ov) – Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)
Asghar Stanikzai scored 62 in this game to provide the 21st occasion of a captain scoring a fifty in WT20 and also the second such occasion by an Afghanistan captain. It also represents his second fifty in WT20 – the first being his – 55 not out against Scotland at Nagpur on 08.03.16. He became the sixth captain to score two or more fifties in WT20, Others are – CH Gayle {03}, KC Sangakkara {03}, DPMD Jayawardene {02}, BB McCullum {02} and Shoaib Malik {02}
Asghar Stanikzai became the fourth captain in the history of WT0 to score two fifties in a single edition of WT20. Others are CH Gayle of West Indies in 2009, KC Sangakkara of Sri Lanka in 2009 and Shoaib Malik of Pakistan in 2007. The performance of these four captains are furnished below
| CH Gayle of West Indies | |||||
| Runs | Pos | Inns | Opposition | Ground | Start Date |
| 88 | 1 | 2 | v Australia | The Oval | 06 Jun 2009 |
| 63* | 1 | 2 | v Sri Lanka | The Oval | 19 Jun 2009 |
| KC Sangakkara of Sri Lanka | |||||
| Runs | Pos | Inns | Opposition | Ground | Start Date |
| 55* | 3 | 2 | v Australia | Nottingham | 08 Jun 2009 |
| 64* | 4 | 1 | v Pakistan | Lord’s | 21 Jun 2009 |
| Shoaib Malik of Pakistan | |||||
| Runs | Pos | Inns | Opposition | Ground | Start Date |
| 57 | 5 | 1 | v Sri Lanka | Johannesburg | 17 Sep 2007 |
| 52* | 5 | 2 | v Australia | Johannesburg | 18 Sep 2007 |
| Ashar Stanikzai of Afghanisthan | |||||
| Runs | Pos | Inns | Opposition | Ground | Start Date |
| 55* | 3 | 1 | v Scotland | Nagpur | 08 Mar 2016 |
| 62 | 3 | 1 | v Sri Lanka | Kolkata | 17 Mar 2016 |
Asghar Stanikzai’s 62 in this game was in a losing cause to provide the eighth occasion of a captain’s fifty going in vain. All such occasions are listed below in the descending order of the runs scored
| No | Player | Runs | Inns | Team | Oppn | Ground | Start Date |
| 1 | KC Sangakkara | 64* | 1 | Srl | Pak | Lord’s | 21 Jun 2009 |
| 2 | CH Gayle | 63* | 2 | Win | Srl | The Oval | 19 Jun 2009 |
| 3 | GJ Bailey | 63 | 2 | Aus | Win | Colombo (RPS) | 05 Oct 2012 |
| 4 | Asghar Stanikzai | 62 | 1 | Afg | Srl | Kolkata | 17 Mar 2016 |
| 5 | BRM Taylor | 59 | 1 | Zim | Ire | Sylhet | 17 Mar 2014 |
| 6 | F du Plessis | 58 | 1 | RSA | Ind | Dhaka | 04 Apr 2014 |
| 7 | BB McCullum | 57 | 2 | NZl | RSA | Lord’s | 09 Jun 2009 |
| 8 | Younis Khan | 50 | 2 | Pal | Srl | Lord’s | 12 Jun 2009 |
Asghar Stanikzai and Samiullah Shenwari added 61 runs for the fifth wicket in this game to provide the fifth occasion of Afghanistan batsman posting a 50 plus runs partnership in WT20. This stand also represents the second fifty plus runs partnership for the fifth wicket by Afghanistan batsmen in WT20. The first occasion was the 98 runs partnership between Mohammad Nabi and Samiullah Shenwari against Zimbabwe at Nagpur on 12.03.16
Karim Sadiq failed to score in this game to provide the tenth occasion of an Afghanistan batsman scoring a duck in a WT20 game. It also represents his second duck in WT20, the first being his duck against India at Gros Islet on 01.05.10. He became the second Afghanistan batsman to soore two ducks in WT20 after Mohammad Nabi
KMDN Kulasehara returned with figures of one for 43 to provide the 17thoccasion of a Sri Lankan bowler conceding 40 plus runs in a WT20 games.
TM Dilshan scored 83 not out in this game to provide the 22nd occasion of a Sri Lankan batsman scoring a fifty in WT20. It also represents his sixth fifty in WT20. Only DPMD Jayawardene has scored more fifties amongst Sri Lankan batsmen in WT20. He has scored seven fifties.
TM Dilshan’s 83 not out in this game represents his sixth half century in WT20. He now shares the record for most half centuries by a Sri Lankan batsman in WT20 with DPMD Jayawardene. DPMD Jayawardene has scored six half centuries in WT20.
TM Dilshan became the fifth batsman in the history of WT20 to score six or more fifties. Others are – CH Gayle {09}, DPMD Jayawardene {07}, V Kohli {06} and RG Sharma {06}
TM Dilshan’s 83 not out in this game represents his 14th fifty in T20Is. Only CH Gayle and BB McCullum have scored more fifties than TM Dilshan in T20Is. Both the batsmen have scored 15 fifties. TM Dilshan’s knock represent his 13th half century in T20Is. He shares the record for most half centuries in T20Is with CH Gayle, BB McCullum and V Kohli
This game was Sri Lanka’s 33rd game and the win was its 22nd win in WT20 – both are records in WT20 for most matches played and most wins by a team.