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Afghanistan knocked out of the ICC T20 World Cup after 6-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka

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Preview:

As teams in Group 1 of the Super 12s deal with washouts and unexpected results, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have reached the proverbial edge of the cliff. One wrong step and they'll have to pack their bags and return home, while one in the right direction doesn't automatically guarantee progress. With a week left in the group stage, the two bottom-placed sides are feeling the full force of the group of death.

Sri Lanka have one win in three games and Afghanistan's two points are from two washouts, and yet there's very little to separate the two sides. They've had recent tussles against each other in the Asia Cup and each side will take confidence from their respective wins in that tournament.

In the one game they've played, Afghanistan were uncharacteristically timid with the bat. The top-order flamboyance went missing and the tentativeness percolated through to all phases of the game for them. Sri Lanka meanwhile, flexed their muscles in two of the three first round fixtures, but that has faded away in the Super 12s against mightier opponents. They began with a win over Ireland but Australia and New Zealand exposed their frailties with both bat and all. The Afghanistan game brings the opportunity to reset and kick on.

When: Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka, ICC men's T20 World Cup 2022, November 1, 02:00 PM Local time

Where: The Gabba, Brisbane

What to expect: A cloudy morning and a high chance of rain and thunderstorm that is likely to impact the first game on Tuesday.

T20I head to head: Sri Lanka have won two of the three meetings in this format. In T20 World Cups, they faced each other just once with Sri Lanka coming up trumps. More recently, the two faced each other in this year's Asia Cup, where they won a game each.

Team Watch

Afghanistan

Injured/Unavailable: Opener Hazratullah Zazai has been ruled out of the remainder of Afghanistan's campaign due to abdominal and kidney concern. Gulbadin Naib, who has replaced Zazai in the 15-member squad, is likely to play his first T20I in nearly a year.

Tactics & Match-ups: Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been devastating in his two outings against Sri Lanka - smashing 40 off 18 in one and 84 off 45 in the other.

Probable XI: Gulbadin Naib, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Usman Ghani, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Sri Lanka

Injured/Unavailable: There are no more additions to the piling list of injuries.

Tactics & Match-ups: Bhanuka Rajapaksa enjoyed his last two outings against Afghanistan - hitting 38(29) and 31(14) - and could view Monday's meeting to revive his underwhelming World Cup campaign so far.

Probable XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara


What they said:

"We know it's an important game for us. And we are trying to do our best and we need to win this. We know that." - Kasun Rajitha

Squads:

Sri Lanka Squad: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha, Pramod Madushan, Jeffrey Vandersay, Ashen Bandara, Asitha Fernando

Afghanistan Squad: Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Usman Ghani, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Qais Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Saleem Safi


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Gotta feel bad for AFG. They have ben robbed, two games were rainned off and tomr there is 100% chance of rain in Brisbane. So it means that there 3rd game could be rained off.

If they win there last two games, they can make it to the semis.
 
Afghanistan and Sri Lanka will take on each other in a must-win Super 12 clash of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup at The Gabba in Brisbane on Tuesday.

The equation is pretty simple for Afghanistan and Sri Lanka at the moment. They are occupying the bottom two spots in Group 1 with just two points to their names and, with both Australia and New Zealand having made their way to five points already, they will need to win both of their remaining encounters to stay alive in the semi-final race.

But only one team can emerge victorious from this contest, which means the losing team will be out of the final four race completely. Moreover, with rain threat looming large, there's a chance of both teams getting eliminated from contention if the match is a washout.

Two of Afghanistan's three matches so far have already been hit by rain. After their loss to England, where they fought very hard and competed really well, both of their games against New Zealand and Ireland were called off as rain played spoilsport. Now there is a risk of their third game encountering the same fate as well.

Mohammad Nabi's men were seen in really good form in the warm-up matches. Even though their batting unit failed in their tournament opener against England, their bowlers delivered a fighting performance and showed that they are a real force to be reckoned with. They will be hoping for another opportunity to show that.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have been fortunate to play three full games. But they haven't been able to make the most of it. They started their Super 12 campaign on a bright note with a massive nine-wicket win over Ireland but have suffered crushing losses to Australia and New Zealand in the last two matches.

While it was their bowling that failed in the match against Australia, it was their batting that couldn't live up to the expectations against the Kiwis. But they need consistency in both departments going into this contest against Afghanistan. If rain shows mercy and they get some overs in to get a result, Sri Lanka will need their star spinners, Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga, and their top order to perform at the peak of their potential.

In fact, both sides will need to win by a big margin to give their NRR a boost as well. But, for now, they just need to focus on winning the match.

ICC
 
Afghanistan win the toss and opt to bat

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Usman Ghani, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi
 
Sri lanka anthem has to be the longest anthem i ever heard...

This game is gonna start late :)))
 
They took 5 minutes to the anthems. Game needs to start in 2 minutes.

Ridiculous stuff by icc, they are late
 
What an irrelevant format this is round robin, knockouts should be encouraged for world tourneys it has its own charm but guess all ICC cares is about $$$
 
Love this team.. hoping they win tonight and no rain
 
What an irrelevant format this is round robin, knockouts should be encouraged for world tourneys it has its own charm but guess all ICC cares is about $$$

Huh? Knockouts generate more money. Round Robin + semis are much better though. If you have a round Robin then quarter finals it's awful. Will be like the 96 world cup where the round Robin was completely pointless.

It's either this way or a 32 team straight knockout tournament.
 
Pathetic batting by usman Ghani. No intent
 
Should had scored 80 by 10th over. Ghani playing a test
 
AFG - 63/1 (9 overs).

They have wickets in hand. Should start accelerating soon.
 
Ghana not running well. Ibrahim needs to strike now
 
Come on man, this maheesh is bowling u hit mee balls. Strike him
 
Afghanistan has set a decent base
Now they need to get to 100-110 by 15th over
 
Ghani departs. I think gulbandin will come in
 
Thank good najibullah has come out. Great player. Can rotate and strike
 
Nabi gona come or gulbaddin.

I think they should send in Rashid to hit a few
 
Need to play 10 an over now and get upto 160plus.

Game is nicely set up for afg, they just have to strike now. And both there strikers, najib and gulbadin are out there
 
Smart by gulbadin no need to strike as big ground, rotate the strike get 10 an over.
 
AFG 113/4 (16) CRR: 7.06

150 looks like a stretch I feel.
 
AFG - 136/5 (18.1 overs).

Not enough runs on the board . Lankans may win this one.
 
Afg just crumbled. Where are there hitters man
 
You gotta be insane. At one point they could had scored 160 ATLEAST. and they settle for 144.

Terrible stuff from the lower order batting. Seriously where are the Afghan hitters? What the hell is azmatullah doing in this team?
 
Gurbaz speaks better English than our captain. Nice.

Wonder how he learned the language in Afg
 
If Afghan field well and don't drop any catches they can win this. Not easy to score on this pitch against quality bowlers
 
Lanka in a rush. Rashid getting mullered
Gurbaz speaks better English than our captain. Nice.

Wonder how he learned the language in Afg


It was under a 20 year occupation and English is really easy
 
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SL scoring 26 in the last 2 overs, momentum in their favour now
 
Afghanistan are absolutely terrible outside Asia
Said it earlier, Ireland missed out on an easy win
 
Afghan made some mind boggling decisions.

Why Naveen ul Haq not playing?
Whey Nabi not came to bat early.
Why batted so slowly in the middle.
Why Nabi kept bowling spinners when he know Dannajiya play them well.
 
Afghanistan are minnows in ICC main events

And SL showed how to handle a minnow team. Had it been Pakistan, they would have dragget it to 20th over, or even lost the match. Lovely stuff by SL!
 
Star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga was superb yet again as Sri Lanka stayed in contention for an unlikely berth in the ICC Men's World Cup semi-finals with a comprehensive six-wicket triumph over Afghanistan in Brisbane on Tuesday.


Hasaranga heroics keep Sri Lanka in the hunt for semis

Wanindu Hasaranga was the leading wicket taker at last year's T20 World Cup and the Sri Lanka all-rounder is on track to match those efforts following an impressive three-wicket haul and Player of the Match performance against Afghanistan at The Gabba.

The Sri Lanka star claimed the key wicket of Usman Ghani (27) early and then returned at the death to pick up the scalps of fellow spinners Rashid Khan (9) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (1) as Afghanistan could muster just 144/8 from their 20 overs.

Ghani and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (28) had given Afghanistan a strong start by putting on 42 for the opening wicket, until Hasaranga's timely intervention following the batting Powerplay.

Hasaranga finished with a match-winning figures of 3/13 and even chimed in with an excellent catch in the outfield to help dismiss the dangerous Najibullah Zadran (18).


Mujeeb produces moment of magic

Mujeeb produced a moment of brilliance when he clean bowled Pathum Nissanka for 10 early in Sri Lanka's reply with a delivery that had to be seen to be believed.

Mujeeb (2/24) got his usual drift in towards the pads, before the ball spun away from the bat and slammed into the top of off stump to leave Nissanka stunned and give Afghanistan some hope.

The Afghanistan leggie bowled well to finish with figures of 2/24, but even star tweaker Rashid (2/31) copped some stick as Dhananjaya de Silva (66*) crafted a brilliant half-century to guide Sri Lanka home.


Not Gulbadin Naib's day

Gulbadin Naib would have been on a high entering Tuesday's match after getting a late call-up for injured opener Hazratullah Zazai, but the veteran batter won't want to see a replay of his comical dismissal.

Naib had moved on nicely to 12 and was just starting to feel at ease at the crease until disaster struck in the 18th over when he attempted to sneak a second run and dropped his bat mid-pitch when sent back by skipper Mohammad Nabi.

The Afghanistan veteran tried in vain to recover safely - even attempting an eye-catching roll towards the crease - but was caught short much to the delight of the Sri Lanka players.


Where to now?

The victory sees Sri Lanka stay in contention for an unlikely semi-final berth, although they will need everything to go right for them if they are to finish in the top two in Group 1.

Dasun Shanaka's side rise to third in the Group 1 standings and will need to defeat England on Saturday - and have other results go their way - to have any chance of sneaking in.

Afghanistan's frustrating tournament is over, with Friday's clash against hosts Australia now their final chance to earn a victory at the T20 World Cup.

ICC
 
Highlights

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Afghanistan unfortunately plays very little cricket in these conditions. It's unfair to judge them hard.

They struggled in all ICC events held in conditions that aren't similar to Asia
 
Poor Afghanistan. They don't even have a match with Pakistan where they can give 100%:usman
 
Poor tournament overall for the Afghans.

Bad weather and some below par performances.

No chest thumping for them.
 
Afghans clearly lacked exposure to these conditions. A very forgettable tournament.
 
Poor tournament overall for the Afghans.

Bad weather and some below par performances.

No chest thumping for them.
They always do well against Pakistan. Unfortunately for them they were in a different group.
It seems like their only goals in life are to beat Pakistan and be the cleaning wipes for India.
 
Irrelevant. What does this have to do anything with cricket?

How is it irrelevant? International cricket has a thing called press conference, ceremonies and interviews, thus the things are not exactly irrelevant.

It surprises me that a guy with no resources in his country can speak an international language more fluently than a guy who not only had resources in his country but is the face and captain of the Pakistan team.
 
They always do well against Pakistan. Unfortunately for them they were in a different group.
It seems like their only goals in life are to beat Pakistan and be the cleaning wipes for India.

Why is it wrong for them to beat Pakistan?

I see many pakistani fans take offense in Afghans doing well against them and coming close. That is the mentality of superiority complex.

Afghan cricketers find Pakistani team easier to beat and have a motivation to beat them that helps
 
To be fair, Afghanistan did not played bad cricket. What I saw was improvement in the Afghan team.

When I do analysis of Afghan team I compared them with the 2010 team. This team used to play hitters and strikers. Now you see players batting by playing good shots opting for runs through single double instead of playing hack shots.

This team is good bowling wise and just needs a batsmen or two that can further improve them.

Fear for the day when Afghan team becomes a good competitor. Even now its raw talent.
 
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