Afghanistan take on Sri Lanka in the first Super 4 clash in Asia Cup 2022 from group B on Saturday, September 3 in Sharjah. The Afghans topped the group and became the first team to make it to the Super 4s. Sri Lanka after beating Bangladesh became the second team to qualify further in the tournament from the group.
Afghanistan had beaten Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in the first match of this campaign on August 27. After a close win against Bangladesh, the Lankans are wary of the threat that Afghanistan brings and should be ready and thoroughly prepared to face them.
A total of 13 matches will take place during the tournament. India are the defending champions of the tournament, which won the title back in 2018 by defeating Bangladesh in the final. India has also won the most 7 Asia Cup titles so far. Sri Lanka comes next with 5 titles while Pakistan has won 2 titles.
During the group stage, each team will play one match against the teams in their group. The top 2 teams from both groups will qualify for the super four round. During the super 4 round, each team will play one match against the other. The Super four stage begins from September 3 and goes on till September 9. The top two teams will qualify for the final which will be played in Dubai on September 11.
Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan: Match Preview, Asia Cup 2022, Super 4, Match 1
Afghanistan
Both of Afghanistan’s wins were by comfortable margins. They won by 8 wickets against Sri Lanka and by seven wickets against Bangladesh, In both the games they had multiple players putting up their hands and performing for their team. T20 looks to be the most suited format for the side with players coming out and expressing themselves.
Mujeeb and Rashid have hunted in pairs so far and Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Najibullah Zadran have done the job with the bat. In Ibrahim Zadran, Afghanistan has found another player who can take up the responsibility in the middle order. The side is all pumped up and looking forward to progressing further in the tournament.
Afghanistan Squad
Mohammad Nabi (c), Najibullah Zadran, Afsar Zazai, Azmatullah Omarzai, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Naveen ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rashid Khan, Samiullah Shinwari
Standby: Nijat Masood, Qais Ahmed, Sharafuddin Ashraf
Sri Lanka
Sri Laka chased down a record run-chase against Bangladesh to stay alive in the tournament. Kusal Mendis anchored the chase which was finished by the likes of Dasun Shanaka and Chamika Karunaratne. The Lankans thus live to fight another day. They face an Afghanistan side that defeated them earlier in the campaign. The side is wary of what to expect from their rivals and needs to counter-attack.
Their bowling was disciplined against Bangladesh where they have no extras which ultimately made the difference between the two sides. Their batters need to look to score more consistently if they are to play the final. Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan might just turn out to be another cliffhanger.
Sri Lanka Squad
Dasun Shanaka (c), Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Ashen Bandara, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrama, Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwanidu Fernando, Nuwan Thusara, Dinesh Chandimal
