Crucial game for Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in group of death

Dunith Wellalage could replace Maheesh Theekshana for today’s game 

• Afghanistan Coach Jonathan Trott expects team to bounce back

Afghanistan Head Coach Jonathan Trott

ABU DHABI: Bangladesh’s 8-run win against Afghanistan in their final match on Tuesday has certainly opened up Group B of the Asia Cup and turned it into a group of death.

The possible scenarios ahead of today’s Sri Lanka vs. Afghanistan clash at the Zayed Cricket Stadium here:

• If Sri Lanka beats Afghanistan, both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will qualify.
• If Afghanistan beats Sri Lanka by a small margin, both Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will qualify.
• If Afghanistan beats Sri Lanka by 70-odd runs, Afghanistan and Bangladesh will qualify.

Former Sri Lanka Captain Dasun Shanaka is of the belief that Sri Lanka have it in them not only to defeat Afghanistan, but to go and win another Asia Cup.

“Everyone is in a positive mindset. We have the players to win this contest, as well as the Asia Cup. They have that belief,” said Shanaka at the pre-media briefing yesterday. “Afghanistan’s got a quality attack, but we are prepared for that. We have faced them several times in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and we are ready for them.”

“If the opening bowlers can get us one or two wickets in the first 2-3 overs, we can move forward against any team. We have the experienced bowlers who can do that. It is important that the opening bowlers make a contribution; then, (Wanindu) Hasaranga and (Maheesh) Theekshana can get into the act. We depend a lot on those four bowlers. Just because we couldn’t get an initial breakthrough in the match against Hong Kong China, it is not something to worry about. (Dushmantha) Chameera and (Nuwan) Thushara have been bowling well together.”

Shanaka said that they have had long discussions about the middle order collapse and are ready to address the issue.

“With the difference in pitches, the conditions also change. Most of the time, the openers give us a good start and after that, the middle order struggles. As the ball gets older, it does not slide onto the bat. We have formulated a plan of how to bat in such conditions. We are prepared to rectify the mistakes. Our mindset was to take time in the middle and bat, but we have decided to make positive our options.”

Shanaka said that looking at the Afghanistan batting line-up, there was a possibility of left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage getting his first game.

Following Afghanistan’s defeat at the hands of Bangladesh, Afghanistan Head Coach Jonathan Trott while expressing his disappointment at the loss said: “It’s always a disappointment to lose. It’s important that we dust ourselves off. That’s what tournament play is—it’s always ups and downs, you’ve got to make sure that you are able to ride those waves and bounce back from the disappointment. If we win and we win well, it gives us confidence going into the Super Fours group stage. Plenty to play for.

“Very disappointed, we should have played better. We made it a little bit tougher for ourselves. We’ve seen the side bounce back from a few disappointments and put in some really good performances on the back of some disappointing ones. I am looking forward to seeing the guys bounce back. We need to put our socks up for Thursday,” he added.

All-rounder Gulbadin Naib said: “In this kind of tournament, every game is tough and challenging. We learn from our mistakes quickly. We are used to these kinds of situations so no pressure. Sri Lanka is a good side. We have played with each other a lot and we know each other very well, so you can say that it’s not much difficult for us. But in T20 cricket, anything can happen because you don’t have much time.”

The two countries have played each other in T20Is on eight occasions and Sri Lanka lead 5-3. The last time they met at Dambulla in February 2024, Afghanistan edged home by 3 runs. The contests between the two sides have always been close, and one could expect a blockbuster today.