Toss Sri Lanka opt to bowl vs Afghanistan
The Super 4 stage of the 2022 Asia Cup got underway with a coin toss in Sharjah that eventually proved redundant since its winners Sri Lanka chose to chase and Afghanistan wanted to bat first anyway.
🚨 Toss Alert 🚨
We have lost the toss and have been put into bat first by Sri Lanka in our first match in the Super Four Stage of the Asia Cup 2022. #AfghanAtalan | #AsiaCup2022 | #AFGvSL pic.twitter.com/UmM6NuMr8E
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) September 3, 2022
Dasun Shanaka said Sri Lanka preferred to bowl since his side are better chasers while Mohammad Nabi said that he expects the pitch to slow down later and therefore wanted his batters to have the first crack.
Afghanistan made one forced change, with the unwell seam-bowling allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai missing out. Samiullah Shinwari – the middle-order batter who can also bowl handy legspin – replaces him. Sri Lanka enter the game unchanged.
SL vs AFG live telecast and streaming info
Star Sports live stream AFG Vs SL here.
Watch live streaming on Gazi TV here
Both sides have had different pathways into the Super 4, with Afghanistan romping in with two convincing victories but Sri Lanka are still buoyant after crossing the line in a must-win game against Bangladesh earlier in the week. The last time the two sides met, in the tournament opener, Sri Lanka were blown away for only 105 and suffered an eight-wicket loss.
An electric start for Afghanistan, exactly what we would have wanted 💥
We are 40 runs for no loss after 4 overs. #AfghanAtalan | #AsiaCup2022 | #AFGvSL pic.twitter.com/zrrWyy2wQh
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) September 3, 2022
The pitch report suggests that the deck is dry and without much grass, with expectations that the newer ball will skid through early on. It is also expected to have lesser bounce than Dubai. The winner of tonight’s game will be early leaders on the Super 4 points table, from where two teams will eventually qualify for the Asia Cup final on Sunday, September 11.
Playing XI
Sri Lanka: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Charith Asalanka, 4 Danushka Gunathilaka, 5 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Chamika Karunaratne, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Dilshan Madushanka.
Afghanistan: 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Ibrahim Zadran, 4 Najibullah Zadran, 5 Mohammad Nabi (capt), 6 Karim Janat, 7 Samiullah Shinwari, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Naveen-ul-Haq, 10 Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi.
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