AFG vs SL: Gunathilaka goes from hero to villain after taking catch, his foot touches boundary rope

It was all happening in Sharjah as Afghanistan faced off against Sri Lanka on Saturday in the first match of the Super 4 of Asia Cup. The match got off to a dramatic start as the Sri Lankan side celebrated shortly after the start of the game, the dismissal of Rahmanullah Gurbaz. 

Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and chose to bowl first. The Afghanistan opening batters Hazratullah Zazai and Gurbaz were crucial in their team’s previous win over Sri Lanka earlier in the tournament. 

The pair were off to a good start as they scored 11 runs in two overs with Gurbaz trying to take on Maheesh Theekshana. In the third over, the Afghanistan batter smashed a maximum on the fourth ball, and on the very next delivery, he again looked for a big hit. 

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Guzbar was caught at long-on with Danushka Gunathilaka completing the catch with ease all the Sri Lankan players started to celebrate. 

However, Gunathilaka went from hero to villain quickly as his feet touched the boundary ropes as shown in the replays, after which Gurbaz received a huge let-off. The whole incident was checked by the third umpire who also ruled in the Afghanistan opener’s favour. 

Watch the video of the incident:

#AFGvsSL Could cost them the game this!#Gunathilaka pic.twitter.com/sYxi0tjCOR
— Cricket fan (@Cricket58214082) September 3, 2022

 As fate would have it, Gurbaz would go on to score 84 runs off just 45 deliveries, helping Mohammad Nabi’s side to a total of 175/6.

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In reply, Sri Lankan batsmen were 40/0 after five overs, at the time of writing.