SL vs AFG 2nd ODI Match Prediction

SL vs AFG Team Previews

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was absolutely shambolic in the opening match. Its batters suffered a number of soft dismissals after getting set. Players like Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, and even Angelo Mathews played shots that they would like to forget very quickly. 

An excellent partnership between Charith Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva kept Sri Lanka in the game but the push towards the end to try and get to 300 never came. On paper, Sri Lanka has a lot of depth in its batting lineup but that has not translated to a good enough performance. There is a lot of potential here to expect more runs from Nissanka, Mendis, and even Mathews but the approach seems a bit dated. 

Bad as the batting was, the bowling was terrible and it does not promise to get better soon either. There was no Chameera, Theekshana, and Lahiru Kumara seems to be carrying an injury as well. 

If the bowling attack is similar to waht we saw in the previous match, you really cannot justify the price of favorites being offered to them. For Sri Lanka to win, its batting has to be oustanding and their performance in the previous match make us think that is also a bit on the unlikely side. 

Afghanistan

Afghanistan dominated Sri Lanka in the previous match. It was always expected to do well with its bowling but the batting performance led by Ibrahim Zadran was oustanding. He stroked 98 fluent runs and really deserved a century. Afghanistan has a star on its hands and we don't think it will be long before Ibrahim Zadran is talked amongst the best batters in the world. 

Rahmanullah Gurbaz continues to struggle in the 50-over format for some reason but he is another very exciting batter. With the sedate Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, and Mohammad Nabi to follow, Afghanistan's batting is stable although perhaps a bit too top-heavy. 

The bowling lineup performed brilliantly. Fazalhaq Farooqi picked up early wickets, Fareed Malik was good at the death as well, and Norr Ahmad poses a real challenge through the middle. With Mujeeb ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi as the other bowlers, there is no let-up in the pressure being exerted. 

This is perhaps why Afghanistan is able to get regular wickets throughout the inning. We think the team is being a bit underrated by the betting sites and it should be able to put up another strong performance.