Sri Lanka Vs Afghanistan Super 4 Preview
On Saturday, September 3 in Sharjah, the opening Super 4 match of the Asia Cup 2022 pits Afghanistan against Sri Lanka. The Afghans were the first team to go to the Super 4s after winning their group. After defeating Bangladesh, Sri Lanka became the second team from the group to advance in the competition. Let us look into detail on Sri Lanka Vs Afghanistan Super 4 Preview.
On August 27, Afghanistan defeated Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in the opening game of this series. The Lankans are cautious of the threat that Afghanistan poses after a narrow victory over Bangladesh, and they should be ready and well-prepared to confront them.
Each team competed against the other teams in their group once during the group stage. The top two teams from each group will advance to the final four. Each team will compete against the other in one match during the super 4 round. The top two teams will advance to the championship game, which will take place on September 11 in Dubai.
The top two teams in group B, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka, advanced to the Super 4 and are participating in the round’s opening game.
With the way Srilanka chased against Bangladesh, they showed courage and excitement that was lacking in the team for quite some time. We have been seeing a bit of it here and there but they were never consistent with it. Now, since it is the need of the hour, it looks like they have to get carry it forward.
Afghanistan looks like the team to look forward to. They have dominated in both the matches they have played, and if they go one match at a time and don’t underestimate the opponent, they should definitely expect good results from this match as well.
How the pitch will play?
The Sharjah Cricket Stadium has a mediocre scoring rate. In T20I matches played there, the average first innings score is 149, and the average second innings score is 125. Bangladesh scored 127 while batting first in the preceding Asia Cup 2022 game at the venue. But we can expect things to go all out and see a big score on the scoreboard.
Srilanka vs Afghanistan Players to Watch out for:
For Srilanka, Kusal Mendis anchored the chase which was finished by the likes of Dasun Shanaka and Chamika Karunaratne. They should continue to do that for the team. Hasaranga is under a lot of pressure because he hasn’t been producing to the best of his skills. Theekshana needs to keep up his solid bowling to take Srilanka on top.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Najibullah Zadran handled the job with the bat while Mujeeb and Rashid have been hunting in pairs thus far. Afghanistan has discovered a new talent in Ibrahim Zadran who can assume the role in the middle order. The team is fired up and excited to advance farther in the competition.
Srilanka vs Afghanistan Probable Playing XI:
Sri Lanka: Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka ©, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka
Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Karim Janat, Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi ©, Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Srilanka vs Afghanistan: Who will win?
Well, it is a fixed juncture that Afghanistan is going to top the group unless Srilanka pulls off a magical out of the world performance which looks quite difficult to pull off against the Afghans with the way they are performing. The competition does not affect the standing much. We can expect anything from this match. Afghans may look like a better team but Srilanka can turn the game anyday.
