England was in a better position at 125/2 in 15 overs, but the Kiwis made a strong comeback in the final five, taking four wickets and giving away 54 runs. Buttler (73) and Hales (52) shared an 81-run stand for the first wicket. Lockie Ferguson was pick of the bowlers for NZ with 2/45
Buoyed by the match-winning knock of Dhananjaya de Silva and Wanindu Hasaranga's three wicket haul, Sri Lanka registered their second win of the tournamnt to keep their T20 World Cup dream alive.
Dinesh Karthik's presence in the nets session also gives an indication that the 'Finisher' is fit enough to feature in Men in Blue's next match against Bangladesh, though the final call is in hands of the management
Karthik had left the field midway against South Africa citing discomfort in the back. Rishabh Pant had assumed the wicketkeeper's role behind the stumps after he left the field. Speculations about Karthik's fitness had been making the rounds after the South Africa match.
Dravid's comments come when Rahul is battling bad form during the ongoing T20 World Cup. In his three appearances in the tournament, he has failed to cross the single-digit mark and has managed scores of 4,9,9 in the tournament, a total of 22 runs at a poor average of 7.3
Opting to bat first, the Afghan inning started cautiously with openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Usman Ghani seeing off the new ball. Gurbaz sensed the need to score runs and took the initiative to attack the Sri Lankan bowlers.
Bangladesh will have an uphill task on their hands when they lock horns with India on November 2, Wednesday at the Adelaide Oval in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
The 35-year-old left the field after pulling up sore from a sprinting effort during the powerplay, against Ireland and didn't return for the rest of the game. Matthew Wade took over as the team's skipper after the batter didn't return to the field.