It is the battle between the bottom two teams in Group 1 when Afghanistan take on Sri Lanka in match 32 of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Brisbane on Tuesday 1 November. The Lankan Tigers will be looking to keep their semi-final hopes alive and the Afghans will try. to get his first victory of the tournament.
The island nation has been very hot and cold in the tournament so far. After losing to Namibia in the qualifying stage, they put on a clinical show to advance to the Super 12. They won their first Super 12 meeting against Ireland convincingly by 9 wickets. But they have lost their last two games pretty completely against Australia and New Zealand.
Despite losing their previous match comprehensively against the Blackcaps, Sri Lanka might be tempted to play with the same playing XI that was used against the New Zealand team. Let’s take a look at Sri Lanka’s probable XI against Afghanistan.
Starters: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis
Sri Lankan starters Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis have not been able to give their best in the Super 12 stages so far. Both starters have played some unnecessary shots to throw their wickets away in the competition thus far.
Both Mendis and Nissanka are expected to play a crucial role for their team and will need to get Sri Lanka off to a flying start, particularly during field restrictions, and try to neutralize Afghanistan’s pivotal attack.
Middle Order: Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa
Talented batsman Charith Asalanka failed to get going in his previous match against New Zealand. The left-handed batsman took eight balls to score all four of his runs before he was scalped by senior pacemaker Trent Boult. Asalanka hopes to make a key contribution to his team in the next game.
Batsman Bhanuka Rajapaksa looked menacing against New Zealand as he took just 22 balls to score all 34 of his runs, which included three fours and two tops. He will look to repeat his antics with the bat in the next game.
All-rounder: Dhananjaya de Silva, Chamika Karunaratne, Dasun Shanaka (C)
Silva’s all-rounder Dhananjaya was good on the ball in the previous match, but caught a three-ball duck with the bat. The senior will want to have a much better start in the next game with both of them and the ball.
Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka played a decent 35 runs on just 32 balls but failed to win the game for his team. Similarly, Chamika Karunaratne disappointed with both the bat and the ball against the Kiwis and both will definitely want to make an effort to win the game against Afghanistan.
Bowlers: Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara
The Sri Lankan bowlers brought the New Zealand batsmen to their knees after they were cut to just 15/3 in 3.6 overs, but Theekshana and Kumara were pretty expensive with the ball, especially towards the tail end of the innings.
Leg-spinning star Wanindu Hasaranga took a wicket for his side and gave up just 22 runs in his four-plus quota and is expected to play a crucial role for his side in the upcoming game. Pacer Kasun Rajitha also had a good start against the Kiwi team, as he took two crucial wickets for his team. He is also expected to keep his place in the playing XI.
Possible Sri Lankan XI:
Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (WK), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Chamika Karunaratne, Dasun Shanaka (C), Wanindu Hasaranga, Mahesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara