Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka wins toss, opts to bat against Afghanistan
In the absence of three injured pacers, Matheesha Pathirana has embraced the responsibility and the slingy operator will be expected to make life tougher for the Afghanistan batters
In the absence of express fast bowlers, Afghanistan rely heavily on the spin duo of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Zadran. Rashid went wicketless on Sunday and will hopefully be fired up for this crucial game against the Lankans
Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are set to lock horns with each other on Tuesday (September 5) at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium in match no. 6 of the Asia Cup 2023 edition. A big loss for any team in this format of the tournament can get them eliminated and now Afghanistan are in tremendous pressure to keep themselves alive for the Super Four qualification.
Dasun Shanaka-led Lanka did a good job in their first game winning it in style Bangladesh despite missing some key players from their lineup. Afghanistan have to chase a target of over 300 (if Sri Lanka post it) to keep themselves alive in this competition and if they end up posting 300, they need to win by a margin of atleast 237 runs.
It is a do-or-die clash for Afghanistan on Tuesday (September 5), as they take on Sri Lanka in their final Group B match.
Afghanistan (Unchanged Playing XI) – Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Sri Lanka (Unchanged Playing XI) – Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (WK), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (C), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana.
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