Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka Prediction: Afghanistan to give a big fight

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has thrown all the analysis out of the window. There are more last-ball finishes that we witnessed during the Dubai World Cup and we are seeing some amazing battles grace the stage. The spillage caused by rain has been carried well by the number of thrillers we have seen so far. It can also be the case when Afghanistan takes on Sri Lanka. 

Afghanistan has seen even a single delivery action since their loss against England for more than a week now. It means that they are now left with two points in three games, thus, their chances of advancing have taken a hit. This surely feels unfair but it can be argued that they have mustered two points nonetheless. They will continue to rely upon their spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi, the former two being two of the best spinners in the world. Fast bowling hasn’t been their strength but Azmatullah Omarzai and Fazalhaq Farooqi present decent potential.

There have been batting concerns around this team. While Hazrathullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz are made for T20 with their hitting abilities, they are unable to parse through the initial stages and end up getting out playing aggressive strokes. The middle order has been solid with Ibrahim Zadran and Najibullah Zadran doing a glue job whereas Usman Ghani and Mohammad Nabi have been able to lay the finishing touch. It is just that Afghanistan’s batting against quality bowling hasn’t received ample support from the batters when they are up against quality opponents.

Sri Lanka had to make it through the Qualifying round to reach here. They come into this game after suffering a 65-run loss against New Zealand. They were on top for the first ten overs of the game but their wayward bowling and fielding allowed Glenn Phillips to rack up a century and propel New Zealand to 167. During the chase, the Sri Lankans stood no chance since ball one and lost five wickets for just 24 runs. Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Dasun Shanaka combined for 69 runs and the rest of the lineup couldn’t even get to double figures.

The team lost their in-form bowler Dushmantha Chameera to an injury but that is not the end of it. Electric batter Danushka Gunathilaka has been out and Binura Fernando is also going to miss the action. The team is surely depleted and they lack seamers that have kept it tight and that has hurt the bowling. Batting-wise, their power-packed middle order has been misfiring and the team needs more from Charith Asalanka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who was doing an amazing job during the Dubai T20 World Cup. Sri Lanka had a tough draw, playing the two favorites from the group first-up and now their progress has been hampered in a big way.

• Batters: Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Patthum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa;
• Bowlers: Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

It is unlikely that either of these teams will make it to the Semis but there is a lot to play for here. Sri Lanka has worked hard to make it this far, beating the odds repeatedly and they have a team with a lot of promise thus games like these are crucial for confidence-building. One thing is clear, with the depleted Sri Lankan team, Afghanistan has an advantage bowling-wise but batting-wise, they have been hit-and-miss.

The opening batters on either side will need to kick on early. It will be interesting to see how the track plays out here The Afghani spin attack doesn’t care if the track is pacy or slow, they will be tight and have the upper hand. I bank upon this attribute and believe Afghansitanis can pull off a win here.