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Asia Cup 2025: Kusal Mendis, Nuwan Thushara knock Afghanistan out
Kusal Mendis ensured Sri Lanka’s 100% record through the group stage as his unbeaten 74 off 52 trumped Mohammad Nabi’s outrageous 60 off 22 for a six-wicket win against Afghanistan. The result means Bangladesh also qualify with a second place in group B.
Kusal was crucial to the chase with his ability to navigate Afghanistan’s variety of spinners – courtesy of well-executed sweeps and pulls – proving crucial in Sri Lanka running down a tricky target with eight deliveries to spare.
Kusal was therefore the common denominator in a string of partnerships – 22, 25, 45, 27 and 52* – as Sri Lanka put aside a potentially momentum-shifting cameo from Nabi.
Nabi had earlier resurrected the Afghanistan innings, striking five sixes in the final over bowled by left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage, who had been drafted in to this game ahead of Maheesh Theekshana. Prior to that, Dushmantha Chameera had been taken for 17 runs in the penultimate over of the innings, meaning Afghanistan struck 49 in the last two overs to give their total a monster boost.
Up until that point, though, Sri Lanka had dominated proceedings, with Nuwan Thushara, in particular, shining with figures of 4 for 18. It was a performance worthy of a win, and so it proved in the end.
Losing Pathum Nissanka early was not ideal, nor was Kamil Mishara falling in the powerplay. But Kusal ensured that he took on the scoring burden and kept Sri Lanka in the chase with timely boundaries through the middle overs.
However, nerves still remained with Sri Lanka needing 48 off the last five overs. It was here that Kusal was joined by the other Mendis in the side – Kamindu – who once more showed off his capabilities as a finisher.
Kamindu struck two pivotal sixes – one each off Noor Ahmad and Fazalhaq Farooqi – to take the pressure off his senior compatriot and finished unbeaten on 26 off 13. It meant Kusal rarely had to shift gears, even at the death, as Sri Lanka ran down the target with ease.
Starting left-arm spin-bowling allrounder Wellalage over Theekshana was a call presumably predicated on the idea that Afghanistan had ten right-handers in their batting line-up, while also a move that simultaneously lengthened the batting and improved the fielding.
As things transpired, though, Wellalage was not needed with the bat, while he dropped Nabi on 5. But more pertinently, so effective were Sri Lanka’s strike bowlers – particularly Thushara – that Charith Asalanka decided that it was worth the gamble to bowl his main bowlers out early in the hopes of picking up wickets sooner rather than later.
And the plan worked – to an extent. Thushara bowled three overs in the powerplay, picked up three wickets in that period, before getting a fourth at the death. Chameera bowled well, but was unlucky to go for 50 runs in his four overs – the most expensive spell of his career. Dasun Shanaka, nominally the fifth bowler, got away with 29 runs in his four overs, while Hasaranga gave away just 18 in four wicketless overs.
Even Wellalage had given away just 17 up until his last over. For Nabi, a fantastic hitter of spin, this was an ideal match-up and he took on Wellalage in epic fashion. Five sixes in the V saw 32 come off that final over – and with it gave Afghanistan hope.
It’s unfortunate that many will remember Wellalage for that final over, because up until then, he, along with the rest of the Sri Lanka bowlers, had kept Afghanistan quiet right through their innings.
Thushara was the star, taking three in the powerplay with his outswingers to the right-handers, and one searing in swinger to left-hander Sediqullah Atal.
Asalanka smartly got through his fifth bowler quota with Shanaka in the middle overs as Afghanistan sought to consolidate, though it was that extra over from Thushara in the powerplay that proved decisive in the end as it meant Wellalage wound up having to bowl to Nabi in the final over – a strategy rarely, if ever, employed by a Sri Lanka side in recent years.
Fortunately for Wellalage and Sri Lanka, it mattered little once all the chips were counted.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 171 for 4 (Kusal Mendis 74*, Kusal Perera 28, Charith Asalanka 17, Kamindu Mendis 26*; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 1-42, Azmatullah Omarzai 1-10, Mohammad Nabi 1-20, Noor Ahmad 1-37) beat Afghanistan 169 for 8 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 14, Sadiqullah Atal 18, Ibrahim Zadran 24, Mohammad Nabi 60, Rashid Khan 24; Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Dushmantha Chameera 1-50, Dunith Wellalage 1-49, Dasun Shanaka 1-29) by six wickets
[Cricinfo]
The United States military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces conducted “self-defence” strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island and “defeated multiple” Iranian missiles and drones as civilian vessels and regional allies Kuwait and Bahrain came under attack.
Kuwait’s military said air defence systems intercepted incoming drones and missiles, while Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said warning sirens were activated. Earlier, Iranian media reported that explosions were heard in the vicinity of Qeshm Island.
[Aljazeera]
In January 2024, the publication Axios reported that the United States president at the time, Joe Biden, was “running out of patience” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza had been raging for months by that point, and Biden was facing public backlash over US support for the conflict.
The assault would continue for the rest of Biden’s term and bleed into the first 10 months of Donald Trump’s second presidency.
Since then, media outlets have continued to publish anonymous accounts of rifts and “frustrating” calls between Trump and the Israeli prime minister. But US support for its Middle East ally has never wavered.
Another anonymously sourced report about a furious, expletive-laden call between US and Israeli leaders came out this week, and it spread rapidly across international media.
Axios reported on Monday that Trump called Netanyahu “f***ing crazy” and berated him over Israel’s escalation in Lebanon.
Around the same time, an Israeli attack killed six people, including two children, in the southern Lebanese town of al-Marwaniyah.
Experts say that despite leaks of feuds and harsh words between US leaders and Netanyahu, policies are ultimately what matters, and they have changed very little.
Ryan Costello, the policy director at the National Iranian American Council Action (NIAC), said political observers have grown to “mock” reports of closed-door anger from US presidents against Netanyahu.
“What’s really important is what actually happens in practice,” Costello told Al Jazeera.
Though there are reports of Trump giving Netanyahu a dressing-down, Isabelle Hayslip, an advocacy manager at the US-based rights group DAWN, said that US policy remains aligned with Israeli interests.
“Single-source reporting of Trump as a strongman who picks up the phone and yells at Netanyahu for undermining US policy is contradicted by the actual policy outcomes where Netanyahu gets exactly what he wants,” Hayslip told Al Jazeera.
“Trump has no final say over Israeli actions. Like his predecessors, the president has proved completely unable to prioritise American interests, instead catering to Israel’s expansionist whims.”
The latest report comes as Trump faces increasing pressure from his Democratic rivals and segments of his base over his handling of the war on Iran, which he launched jointly with Netanyahu on February 28.
The conflict, which saw Iran close the Strait of Hormuz, has sent gasoline prices soaring in the US and fuelled inflation.
Critics have accused Trump of allowing Israel to drag the US into a war that does not advance Washington’s priorities.
With negotiations to end the war stagnating, Israel’s escalation in Lebanon and its threat to bomb Beirut risks derailing the fragile truce that came into effect in April.
Iranian officials have suggested that they cut off contact with the US over the Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
Before the Axios report, Trump announced he had spoken to Netanyahu and an unidentified Hezbollah representative, and both sides agreed that “all shooting will stop”.
But Netanyahu was quick to assert that the Israeli military “will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon”, where it is deepening its invasion and turning entire towns into rubble.
Advocates say Israeli atrocities in Lebanon and across the region could not have happened without US backing.
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, the US has provided Israel with nearly $25bn in military aid, helped fend off retaliatory Iranian attacks against the country and vetoed several ceasefire resolutions at the United Nations Security Council.
Nonetheless, anonymous accounts that the US president is angry at Netanyahu have become a regular feature in the media.
Such reports are attributed to US officials, but it is unclear how leaks with a similar message on the same topic have continued across two administrations from different political parties.
Publicly, aides of both Biden and Trump have largely refrained from criticising Israel.
Trump has regularly praised the Israeli prime minister, arguing on more than one occasion that Israel would have ceased to exist without Netanyahu’s leadership.
In December, the US president also called the Israeli prime minister a “hero” during a meeting in Florida.
“We’re with you, and we’ll continue to be with you,” Trump told Netanyahu.
Two weeks earlier, Axios reported that the White House had “scolded” Netanyahu over Israel’s ceasefire violations in Gaza.
“The White House message to Netanyahu was: ‘If you want to ruin your reputation and show that you don’t abide by agreements, be our guest, but we won’t allow you to ruin President Trump’s reputation after he brokered the deal in Gaza,” the publication quoted a US official as saying.
Few people know the exact content of high-level calls at the White House. Sometimes, top officials, including members of the National Security Council, sit in on conversations between the president and world leaders after briefings.
Negar Mortazavi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, a research nonprofit, said the leak about the tense call between Trump and Netanyahu may be aimed at making Trump look tough on Israel to quell outrage over the war.
“It could be sort of a way of moderating the anger or the blame at the US for continuing this unpopular, illegal, unnecessary war,” Mortazavi told Al Jazeera.
She added that the message it sends is, “Look, we’re very angry at Israel. We yell at them. We call them names.”
But Mortazavi stressed that policy is more important than rhetoric: “Does that change the facts on the ground?”
For his part, Costello argued that the leak was likely directed at Iran.
“I see this one primarily as a signal to the Iranians that Trump is serious, and he wants to insulate what’s happening in Lebanon and Israel’s attacks from the Iran negotiations,” Costello said.
“It remains to be seen the extent to which that excoriation has actually led to a change in Israel’s policies, and I think there is a strong incentive for continued defiance from Netanyahu.”
Axios, meanwhile, has defended its coverage.
“We stand by our reporting, which by the way noted ‘Trump and Netanyahu have had several tense calls in the past but have still coordinated closely on Iran and other issues,’” Jake Wilkins, a spokesperson for the publication, told Al Jazeera in an email.
Mortazavi warned that all sides of the war on Iran are trying to influence public perceptions of the conflict.
She pointed to recent reports that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had resigned, a rumour that was promptly denied by his office.
“This is a very hybrid war. It’s a war on the battlefield. It’s an intelligence war. It’s a war of narratives,” Mortazavi told Al Jazeera. “And then there’s also an information war, which includes disinformation, half-truths and strategic leaks.”
[Aljazeera]
Where once ODI bilaterals could have been fairly mocked for their lack of relevance, they are played less and less, and this series has a bit of heat to it. Qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup is on the line, and both these sides know what it’s like to be left out of a major international tournament (both were missing from the last Champions Trophy, and West Indies had also not played the 2023 World Cup).
On March 31, 2027, the eight highest-ranking teams – aside from hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe – will qualify automatically for the World Cup, and teams slightly lower will have to fight their way in through a qualifier. Currently Sri Lanka are ranked sixth in ODIs, while West Indies are ninth. Both teams could do with a rankings boost.
Sri Lanka are in slightly better shape coming into this series. They have, at the very least, played ODIs this year, losing 2-1 at home to England. West Indies have lost four of their last five ODIs, and have not played the format for six months. Both teams have more or less their regular ODI troops to pick from, however. Sri Lanka’s seam stocks are in especially good health at present.
Sri Lanka’s ODI captaincy has been one of cricket’s most-puzzling roulette wheels over the past ten years. Kusal Mendis had had the job until 2024, when he was ousted with no reason provided. He has again been put in charge, perhaps with a view to him leading Sri Lanka into that 2027 World Cup campaign. There’s been little to recommend him for the role than his own buoyant batting form, however. How will he fare this time in what has turned out to be one of cricket’s most tumultuous positions?
With an average of 50.52 and 19 hundreds in this format, West Indies captain Shai Hope is the only batter in the series who can be called a reliable run machine. Hope hasn’t played competitive cricket since the T20 World Cup, but does have a decent record against Sri Lanka, against whom he has hit two ODI hundreds and four fifties. Like his opposite wicketkeeper-batter-captain Mendis, Hope will be a key figure as West Indies begin their push towards the 2027 World Cup in earnest.
West Indies will need to find a spot for Shimron Hetmyer, who is back in the ODI format. Ackeem Auguste may make way at the top of the order to allow Hetmyer back in. Gudakesh Motie will also likely lead the spin attack.
West Indies (possible): John Campbell, Shai Hope (capt.)(wk) , Keacy Carty, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Matthew Forde, Shamar Springer, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales
Sri Lanka have serious decisions to make on the bowling front. In Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, and Eshan Malinga, they have three bowlers capable of breaching 140kph.
Sri Lanka (possible): Kamil Mishara, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (capt, wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Eshan Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka
[Cricinfo]
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