Sri Lanka [201] defeat Afghanistan [152] by 34 runs (D/L method) in group stage of 2019 World Cup

MenInG

PakPassion Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Runs
217,479
After being comprehensively beaten on all three fronts in their opening game against New Zealand, Sri Lanka will hope for a much improved performance against dark horses Afghanistan on Tuesday, 4 June.

Overview

Afghanistan v Sri Lanka
Cardiff Wales Stadium, Cardiff
2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, Match 7
Tuesday, 4 June; 10:30am local time, 9:30am GMT

Sri Lanka did not have the ideal start to their ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019 campaign, as they lost by 10 wickets to New Zealand. None of the batsmen could support captain Dimuth Karunaratne, who carried his bat with an unbeaten 52, as Sri Lanka folded for 136. Their bowlers, despite having very little to play with, also proved ineffective, finishing wicketless as New Zealand sealed the chase in 16 overs.

Sri Lanka's batting unit has now failed to last the full 50 overs on two separate occasions, including once in the warm-ups, and will have to pull itself up against a well-rounded Afghanistan attack. Likewise, Karunaratne will expect his fast bowlers to exploit the conditions, and the opposition's weakness against the moving white ball early in the innings.

Afghanistan might've gone down to Australia in their opening game in Bristol, but will back themselves to bounce back against Sri Lanka. Their openers both bagged ducks against Australia, but have shown match-winning capabilities in the past. Afghanistan were shored up by lower order contributions against Australia, which was a great positive, but skipper Gulbadin Naib would hope someone from the top order can hold the innings together.

On the bowling front, Hamid Hasan, who produced a disciplined opening spell against Australia, will relish the overcast conditions.

Key Players:

Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan): Currently ranked third in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI All-Rounder Rankings, Mohammad Nabi has been one of the the torch-bearers of Afghanistan cricket. Apart from his batting skills, the veteran can be expected to come in handy with his off-breaks, against a batting line-up dominated by left-handers.

Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka): After having got out for a duck against New Zealand, Mathews will be expected to motivate his side with a significant contribution on Tuesday. With his supreme batting talent, the former captain, who showed signs of form with a half century in the warm-ups, has the ability to produce match-winning performances in any conditions.

Conditions

It is expected to be a wet day, with outbreaks of rain, often of the heavy kind, throughout the morning and afternoon, which might well produce a shortened game at Cardiff. Seamers are expected to get ample assistance, with a 90% cloud cover for most part of the day.

Squads

Afghanistan: Gulbadin Naib (c), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb ur Rahman

Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Avishka Fernando, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Jeevan Mendis, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera (wk), Thisara Perera, Nuwan Pradeep, Dhananjaya de Silva, Milinda Siriwardana, Lahiru Thirimanne, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay

https://www.cricketworldcup.com/news/en/1233842
 
Stats to ponder upon:

Afghanistan v Sri Lanka

• Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have met three times before in ODI cricket, Sri Lanka won
the first two encounters (2014 & 2015) however Afghanistan won their most recent
clash in September 2018 by 91 runs.

• The solitary ICC Cricket World Cup meeting between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka
came at he 2015 edition, the sides facing off at University Oval in Dunedin (NZ) with
Sri Lanka emerging victorious by four wickets (10 balls remaining) despite losing both
openers to golden ducks in their run chase.

• Sri Lanka have lost nine of their 10 ODIs in 2019, their only victory this calendar year
coming against Scotland immediately prior to this ICC Cricket World Cup.

• Sri Lanka have lost all five of their ODI matches at Cardiff Wales Stadium, those
defeats coming against New Zealand (twice), India, England and Pakistan.

• Afghanistan are making their first ODI appearance at Cardiff Wales Stadium, they will
be the 11th different country to play an ODI at the venue.

• Sri Lanka lost their ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 opener against New Zealand, they’ve
not lost their opening two games of an ICC Cricket World Cup since 1999, when the
tournament was last hosted in England.

• Both of Afghanistan’s openers failed to score a run in their opening match against
Australia, the last time this happened in an ICC Cricket World Cup match was when
Sri Lanka’s top two did so against Afghanistan in 2015.

• Lahiru Thirimanne is in line to notch up his 100th ODI innings with the bat for Sri Lanka,
he needs just six runs to become the 16th player to reach 3,000 ODI runs for the
country.

• Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka) has an ODI batting strike rate of 112.4, of the 225 players to
score 2,000+ ODI runs only three have a better strike rate (Maxwell, Buttler, Afridi).

• Since the start of 2017 Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) has taken 99 ODI wickets, more
than any other spinner and more than twice as many as any Sri Lankan spinner (Akila
Dananjaya 48).


Capture.JPG
 
One time WC winners 2 time WC finalists CT winners T20 WC winners T20 WC finalists Sri Lanka take on n00bs AfG :imran
 
The most balanced match in this WC by far. I expect Afg to win buy Malinga is still dangerous on his day.
 
Afghanistan opt to bowl

Teams:
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Lahiru Thirimanne, Dimuth Karunaratne(c), Kusal Perera(w), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Mohammad Shahzad(w), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib(c), Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Afghanistan have won toss and chosen to field first.<br><br>The right call from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GulbadinNaib?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GulbadinNaib</a>?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AfghanAtalan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AfghanAtalan</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LionsRoar?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LionsRoar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CWC19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CWC19</a> <a href="https://t.co/p1kOgegZLb">pic.twitter.com/p1kOgegZLb</a></p>— ICC (@ICC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ICC/status/1135835213576232960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Nice pitch.
 
Afghanistan came to the top level because of their pacers only to realize top teams play pace much better than associates.
 
Their pacers lacked control but their spinners are quality
 
Somewhat glad we are not playing Sri lanka. You never know what they can do. We would have lost 2 points.
 
20 extras in 7 overs, nerves may be. I think, AFGs should have batted first here - put 250+ and bring spinners in. SRL are so good on their day that you often get a surprise with mistaken identity.
 
20 extras in 7 overs, nerves may be. I think, AFGs should have batted first here - put 250+ and bring spinners in. SRL are so good on their day that you often get a surprise with mistaken identity.

SL have all the skillz. Problems lie elsewhere.
 
Agreed with [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION]

Afghanistan strength is bowling. They can defend average totals but their batting is weak.

They did well in Asia cup because they batted first and their spinners choked the opposition.

I absolutely find it rubbish that teams want to bat 2nd. Bat first if you are unsure about your batting. Get 320+. Easier to score 320+ than to chase 300+
 
SL have all the skillz. Problems lie elsewhere.

I think, if Hathura is given 4 years, by 2023 they'll be quite a force in Asian WC. Also, Hathura is someone if he stays that long, he'll get everything as per his wish, or he'll quit. They will have a major squad changeover after WC and Hathura is the best man for the job. Never underestimate SRL in a tournament game.
 
Agreed with [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION]

Afghanistan strength is bowling. They can defend average totals but their batting is weak.

They did well in Asia cup because they batted first and their spinners choked the opposition.

I absolutely find it rubbish that teams want to bat 2nd. Bat first if you are unsure about your batting. Get 320+. Easier to score 320+ than to chase 300+

But, in such condition, on that track, one Malinga might make then 4-5 down before 15 overs. Rasheed needs runs to be effective, otherwise teams play him out economically. I think, SRL went for one extra pacer, which influenced this call also.
 
Nabi has turned this game for Afghanistan. 3 wickets in one over with one drop too. Lol
 
Classic SRL - 4 edges in one over, 3 taken. AFGs are not only back, they are in a winning position now; SRL would struggle to bat through 50 overs here.
 
The complexion of this match has completely changed.
 
In the prediction competition I had predicted a thrashing win for Afghanistan.

They are well on their way...
 
Pretty average deliveries tbh. Just bad batting from the Sri Lankans.
 
Steve Rixon ajao wapis.

It is better for you and for us.
 
Damn what a turn around.

I was thinking 340 is on the cards now it looks difficult for Sri Lanka to reach 220
 
One of the biggest collapses in the middle overs on display
 
Pathetic by Srilanka. They got greedy. No balance and building of innings.
 
One of the biggest collapses in the middle overs on display

I remember a match in early 1999, when Pakistan were around 140 odd for 1 then collapsed to 160/6 in space of 3 overs against Sri lanka, lower order managed to put up fight and pak put a target of 247, Wasim akram magic spell won pakistan that game.
 
I remember a match in early 1999, when Pakistan were around 140 odd for 1 then collapsed to 160/6 in space of 3 overs against Sri lanka, lower order managed to put up fight and pak put a target of 247, Wasim akram magic spell won pakistan that game.

Sri Lanka not crossing 200 here, this is a flat wicket..
 
It is accurate. Trust me.

Rain is also predicted for today starting from next half an hour and atleast for couple of hours. Also for all the matches in this week with more than 50 percent for atleast 3-5 hours.

However, weather forecasts in UK change everyday but the %age chance of rain throughout the week on different WC venues at the moment is indeed alarming.
 
All Muslim teams winning one day after the other, Alhamdullilah :amla Eid Mubarak Bhaijaans
 
Kusal Perera is absolute and pure class. Very impressed with him so far. Not only is he an amazing batsmen with all the shots and power but also a very reliable one, able to stick it out in a tough position.
 
Perera deserves to be captain and the likes of Dickwella and Mendis need to step up and restore Lanka to glory. They have recently shown signs and glimpses of brilliance.
[MENTION=131678]Madplayer[/MENTION] what do you make of Kusal? I've been a fan for a long time but that knock is South Africa has really impressed me.
 
Kusal Perera is as talented as Jayasuriya. He is entering his peak years, but unfortunately, Sri Lanka have been reduced to complete mediocrity.

He should have been born a generation earlier and played his peak cricket with Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Dilshan and peak Malinga and Mathews.

He would have formed a lethal opening combo with Dilshan. Better than Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana.
 
Kusal Perera is as talented as Jayasuriya. He is entering his peak years, but unfortunately, Sri Lanka have been reduced to complete mediocrity.

He should have been born a generation earlier and played his peak cricket with Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Dilshan and peak Malinga and Mathews.

He would have formed a lethal opening combo with Dilshan. Better than Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana.

SL might not even be in the next WC at this rate. Didn't they lose a series against Zimbabwe at home?
 
SL might not even be in the next WC at this rate. Didn't they lose a series against Zimbabwe at home?

Some of these players look not interested, it's unbelievable. Flat wicket, great start and then get bundled out for less than 200...
 
SL might not even be in the next WC at this rate. Didn't they lose a series against Zimbabwe at home?

Yes. Between the 2017 Champions Trophy and start of this World Cup, Sri Lanka lost 33 of 44 ODIs.
 
Some of these players look not interested, it's unbelievable. Flat wicket, great start and then get bundled out for less than 200...

What has caused this level of decline? Pakistan lost 11 matches but even then you knew some batsmen/bowler are of decent quality. SL has not a single world class player in a team of 11. They turned into a complete minnow in 4 years.
 
Back
Top