Afghanistan defeated Canada by two wickets in a rain-affected Intercontinental Cup One-day international at King City on Sunday. It was Afghanistan's second successive victory over the hosts after a nine-wicket win in a four-day fixture, a result that confirmed the Asian team's growing power as a leading second-tier, Associate nation.
Canada, who played in the World Cup earlier this year, made 230 all out in 44.5 overs before Afghanistan reached their Duckworth-Lewis target of 213 from 43 overs with 11 balls to spare. Despite being put in to bat, Canada were well-set for an imposing total at one stage when openers Hiral Patel (62) and Ruvindu Gunasekera (57) put on 75 for the first wicket by the 10th over. But a middle-order collapse allowed Afghanistan to retake control.
Gunasekera's runs came off 40 balls and featured five fours and three sixes while Patel faced 85 balls, hitting three boundaries. Mohammad Nabi was the pick of the bowlers finishing with 4-31 as Canada eventually lost their last seven wickets for just 49 runs.
In reply, Afghanistan were quickly in trouble when Noor Ali Zadran (one) and Mohammad Shahzad (one) were back in the pavillion by the third over with the score at seven for two. Skipper Nawroz Mangal helped steady the innings with 34 off 33 balls before opener Shabir Noori, who made 94, and Nabi put on 114 for the fourth wicket. Noori hit 11 fours and two sixes in his 109-ball innings while Nabi's 58 came off 59 balls with three fours and two sixes. Afghanistan then lost five wickets for just 24 runs before Samiullah Shenwari and Mirwais Ashraf saw their team to victory.
Brief scores: Canada 230 in 44.5 overs (Hiral Patel 62, Ruvindu Gunasekera 57; Mohammad Nabi 4-31) v Afghanistan 213 for eight in 41.1 overs (Shabir Noori 95, Mohammad Nabi 58; Hiral Patel 4-28)
Afghanistan won by two wickets (D/L method).
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