Sri Lanka Chooses to Bat First Against Afghanistan

• Both teams stuck with their same playing XI.
• Sri Lanka is close to qualifying after beating Bangladesh.
• Afghanistan must win by a large margin to stay in the tournament.

In the Asia Cup 2023 Group B clash between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday, Sri Lanka emerged victorious in the toss and opted to bat first. Both teams opted to retain their playing XI for this critical encounter, signaling their confidence in their existing lineup.

Sri Lanka’s journey in the Asia Cup has been promising thus far. They kicked off the tournament with a five-wicket victory over Bangladesh, establishing a strong foundation for their campaign. However, to secure their place in the next round, they must maintain their performance, bearing in mind that their qualification could be in jeopardy if Afghanistan manages to defeat them by a significant margin.

For Afghanistan, the road to the Super 4 round has been challenging. They suffered an 89-run defeat to Bangladesh in Group B, which subsequently secured Bangladesh’s place in the Super 4 stage. Despite this setback, Afghanistan retains a fighting chance to advance further. To do so, they would need to achieve an extraordinary feat – chasing down any target set by Sri Lanka within 35 overs or less.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, has already stamped their ticket to the Super 4 round of the Asia Cup 2023 following their resounding 89-run victory over Afghanistan in the same group. This victory came after their opening match defeat against Sri Lanka, where they fell short by five wickets. As the tournament progresses, the dynamics of these teams’ performances and their quest for success promise to provide intriguing storylines in this edition of the Asia Cup.

Lineups:

Afghanistan: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Najibullah Zadran, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Karim Janat, 8 Gulbadin Naib, 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi

Sri Lanka: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Dimuth Karunaratne, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 8 Dunith Wellalage, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Kasun Rajitha, 11 Matheesha Pathirana

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