SL vs AFG 1st Super Four Match Prediction

SL vs AFG Team Previews

Sri Lanka

Afghanistan would not mind playing at Sharjah at all. It was at this venue where its spinners ran through Bangladesh in the group stage. If the pitch is anything like what we saw then run-scoring is going to be difficult and the spinners will dominate once more.

Mujeeb ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi, and Rashid Khan are the three spinners that Afghanistan has used so far. Mujeeb bowls in the powerplay and is currently giving away runs at just 5 per over in the Asia Cup. He also has the most number of wickets (5) for Afghanistan. Rashid Khan is the most economical while Mohammad Nabi has done very well to give the opposition batters no freebies.

Afghanistan's bowling attack is also bolstered by the emergence of Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Where Afghanistan can sometimes be vulnerable is its batting lineup. Rahmanullah Gurbaz provides the fireworks at the top with Hazratuyllah Zazai with Ibrahim Zadran and Najibullah Zadran the two more dependable batters in the middle. From time to time, though, Afghanistan's batting just seems to implode and collapse.

As a bettor, you are always assuming that risk when you back Afghanistan. Also, while its previous two results have been encouraging, Afghanistan was beaten by Ireland in the series prior to the Asia Cup.

Afghanistan

Sri Lanka pulled off its second-highest chase when it beat Bangladesh in the previous match. That was a tense match in which Sri Lanka made some mistakes but benefitted more from the lapses that Bangladesh made. In the end, a good batting performance from Kusal Mendia and Dasun Shanaka managed to get them home. The all-round role of Chamika Karunaratne should also not be taken lightly. He has contributed in both matches so far.

Sri Lanka's bowling attack was put to the sword by Bangladesh and also struggled against Afghanistan during the group stage. The dependency on Wanindu Hasaranga is clear but Maheesh Theekshana can also be a serious wicket-taker for the team.