Both Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will have the last chance to test their bench strength when they face each other in their final warm-up game before the quadrennial ODI World Cup begins next week.
Afghanistan and Sri Lanka meet in the final warm-up game for the 2023 World Cup. This will be the second warm-up game for both teams, although not a single ball was bowled in Afghanistan's first meeting. Sri Lanka were beaten by Bangladesh by seven wickets in the opening match. Read on as we preview this day-night game. The match at Barsapara Cricket Stadium will begin at 2:00 p.m. local time.
Afghanistan's players will be keen to get on the pitch and gain match practice in this game. They have the talent to be competitive in this game.
Sri Lanka's bowlers were off the pace in their first warm-up game and will need to be far more threatening in this game against Afghanistan.
Match Preview
Afghanistan will face Sri Lanka in the warm-up match of the World Cup at the Baraspara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on October 3. Afghanistan have not been in good form and have lost all of their last five games in a row. Sri Lanka have performed decently so far, winning two of their last five games and would actually be favorites for this game.
Afghanistan had faced Sri Lanka in their last game, with Sri Lanka winning the toss and electing to bat. Sri Lanka started well with a good opening partnership of 63 runs. A few more good partnerships followed. There was a bit of a collapse in the middle but the lower order did a great job and posted a strong 291 runs in total on the board. Afghanistan narrowly lost their opening games but the middle order was fantastic to give them the lead. However, they lost wickets regularly which hurt them in the end as they missed their target by just two runs and were bowled out.
Sri Lanka faced Bangladesh in their final match, with Sri Lanka winning the toss and electing to bat. Sri Lanka started really well, both openers seemed well placed and scored at a quick pace. Several batters had starts, of which Nissanka and Dhananjaya could only reach their fifties with a total of 263. In return, Bangladesh were even more sensational from the start as each batter tried to make the best of the situation. They won the game easily by seven wickets.
Pitch Report
Baraspara Cricket Stadium offers a pitch that will be useful for both batters and bowlers. Pacers in particular can enjoy a bit of seam and swing at the start, which can cause problems for the batters. They can play their shots freely after spending a few balls on the ground. Teams that win the toss elect to bowl, with the average first innings score being 257.
Toss Prediction Since this is a warm-up game, teams will want to test their batting unit. Therefore, the team that wins the toss will likely bat first to give their batters a good hit in the middle.
Weather Report
The weather forecast for Guwahati is good for this cricket match. There is a chance it will rain but we are hoping for a complete and complete game.
Head to Head
Both teams have played 11 games against each other so far. Sri Lanka were the dominant team with 7 wins while Afghanistan recorded 3 wins. 1 game remained inconclusive.
Match Prediction
It looks like a must-win game as Sri Lanka have lost some confidence in recent weeks and are playing in Afghanistan against a team that hasn't won in this format for some time. We predict a close result but are backing Sri Lanka to win.
Sri Lanka to beat Afghanistan
Venue Details
Only two ODIs were played at Barsapara Cricket Stadium and both were high scoring matches. In both cases, the two teams combined to score over 300 runs, with India's 373-7 against Sri Lanka earlier this year being the highest. The team batting first in this game should try to get a total score of around 330.
Betting Tips
Although Sri Lanka have not been at their best in recent weeks, this game offers them a good opportunity to get back on their feet. Afghanusm has not done well as a team, despite having some talented individuals, and we expect their problems to continue.
Pathum Nissanka, C Asalanka, D Karunaratne, D de Silva, D Shanaka (C), Dunith Wellalage, K Mendis (wk), S Samarawickrama, Matheesha Pathirana, L Kumara, M Theekshana
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Afghanistan Key Players
Ibrahim Zadran – The 21-year-old top-class batsman has impressed in all international formats, but it is the ODIs where he has enjoyed the most in his career so far.
Fazalhaq Farooqi – We can expect the left-arm fast medium bowler to be one of Afghanistan's most threatening pace bowlers during the 2023 World Cup.
Rashid Khan – The right-arm spinner should find this pitch particularly helpful for his style of spin bowling. The last time he played against Sri Lanka, he dismissed Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka.
Sri Lanka Key Players
Pathum Nissanka - The 25-year-old right-hander hit eight fours and a six in his impressive innings against Bangladesh and looks set to hit strong form in time for the 2023 World Cup.
Kusal Mendis – The number three batsman has crossed the 50-mark 27 times in ODI cricket and has had some very good results in the 2023 Asia Cup.
Dunith Wellalage – The 20-year-old could well be one of the stars of the 2023 World Cup. He picked up another wicket in the loss to Bangladesh last week.
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