Asia Cup 2018: Venkatesh Prasad Feels Sri Lanka Must be Prepared to Counter Afghanistan Spin Duo

Former Indian medium fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad heaped praises on the Sri Lankan veteran fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who made a remarkable comeback to One-day International cricket in the opening match of the Asia Cup 2018 against Bangladesh. He believes the Islanders could tackle the Afghanistan spinners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Malinga who last played an ODI around a year ago bagged four crucial wickets for just 23 runs in his quota of 10 overs. He was hungry to make a comeback, and it showed in his performance in Dubai. Malinga bagged two wickets in his very first over.

Despite his brilliant spell, Sri Lanka didn’t manage to seize the advantage which they gained in the first two overs. A brilliant knock of 144 by Mushfiqur Rahim eventually helped Bangladesh post a competitive 261 on the board.

The Lankan batters were below par and were never in the chase. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were bundled out for just 124 runs.

Despite their defeat, Sri Lanka will be optimistic of winning their second game against Afghanistan especially with the sort of bowling Malinga did in the first match.

“Anyone who wrote off Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga before the Asia Cup has been sufficiently silenced. The wily bowler, who returned to ODI action after a year, showcased why he was still a force to reckon with his awe-inspiring opening over against Bangladesh in which he took two wickets,” Prasad said.

“It gave the island nation’s campaign a lift, but finally, his four-wicket outing was nullified with some uninspiring fielding and below-par bowling, especially in the death overs. The batting woes were a different matter during the five-time champions 137- run loss to Bangladesh on Saturday night,” Prasad added.

Sri Lanka suffered their second biggest defeat at the hands of Bangladesh.

Venkatesh Prasad feels Sri Lanka have a lot of hard work to do 

“Smarting from their four-match ODI losing streak, the Sri Lankans will take on Afghanistan on Monday. Before the start of the tournament, Sri Lanka was among my title contenders. I’m not writing them off just yet, but I do believe they have a lot of work to do to stay in the reckoning,” Prasad added.

Meanwhile, for Afghanistan, the Asia Cup 2018 will be a platform to showcase their skills and talent. And will be ready to show the whole world that they can do to beat some top class sides.

With some exceptional players in their ranks, Afghanistan should be hopeful of winning their opening encounter.

“The Afghans come into Monday’s contest with their own baggage, but they are no easy meat. They are now a team, who can put up a good fight against the best sides. Having won their last three One-day contests, they will face Sri Lanka with confidence and intent. Much of Afghanistan’s campaign will revolve around spin twins Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman,” he asserted.

“In the hot and dry conditions, the duo will be a handful to handle. The Asghar Afghan-led side will hope for their batsmen to complement the spinners. Their batting line-up, one of their weak links, will revolve around the experience of Afghan, Mohammad Shahzad and Mohammad Nabi, while the pace attack will be led by Aftab Alam and Wafadar,” Prasad concluded.

The third game of the Asia Cup 2018 between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka is underway at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. On the other side, Venkatesh Prasad would be watching this contest closely.