Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to field first against Afghanistan in the opening match of the Asia Cup Super Four stage on Saturday.
Sri Lanka did well to restrict Afghanistan, but the damage was already done as they managed to post a stiff total of 175/6 in the 20 overs
Rahmanullah Gurbaz was their top man as he went onto slam 84 runs in just 45 balls. He was ably supported by Ibrahim Zadran who scored 40 crucial runs. Nonetheless, Sri Lanka pulled things back in last five overs as they restricted Afghanistan to 175 when at one stage they looked set for 190 plus. Especially after scoring hundred in 12 overs.
The island nation, who knocked out Bangladesh in their group after they chased down 184, come in unchanged at Sharjah for the key match in the Twenty20 tournament.
“We are good at chasing. So it’s a good toss to win,” said Shanaka.
“The openers got us a good start, and we had partnerships in the middle. That was important.”
Afghanistan, led by Mohammad Nabi, stormed into round two after crushing wins over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the group stage.
The Afghans have made one change with Azmatullah Omarzai sitting out sick and Samiullah Shinwari making the team.
“Yeah we would have bowled too, but we will try and put a good score on the bat,” said Nabi.
“Really happy with the bowlers in the last few games, hopefully they perform today as well. It’s a little bit of deadly surface here in Sharjah, so we’re happy we’ve already played one game here.”
The tournament acts as a tune-up for the T20 World Cup in October-November in Australia.
Teams
Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (capt), Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Samiullah Shinwari, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Sri Lanka: Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (capt), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka
Umpires: Ahsan Raza (PAK), Gazi Sohel (BAN)
TV Umpire: Anil Chaudhary (IND)
Match Referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
