Asia Cup 2022 – Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan, match preview, predicted lineups

Sri Lanka and Afghanistan go head to head in Asia Cup 2022 to kickstart the tournament and open their campaigns. Both teams will be looking for a win here.

Date & Time : 27th August 2022, 6:00 PM (Local)

Venue : Dubai International Stadium, Dubai

Sri Lanka are one of the prime teams of the Asian subcontinent and they will aim nothing less than a title and they have the quality. They just need to play quality cricket with their brand.

The Lankans have named a strong squad with good mix of batsman as well as bowlers. They will need to execute.

Captain Shanaka and coach Silverwood will likely strategise according to the conditions and will look to get a par total and take the ten opposition wickets.

On the other hand, Afghanistan too are a good side and an upcoming team in Asia. They will look to gain the experience at this level before giving a shot at the title.

Their group is a tricky one with good teams all around. They need to be at their absolute best.

Captain Nabi and their coach have the job to motivate the players to reach good scores and be able to bowl at their best.

As for the wicket, it is a good one for bowling and teams will look to exploit.

Team news and possible lineups

There are no fresh injury concerns for both sides at the moment.

Sri Lanka XI : Nissanka (WK), Gunathilaka, Rajapaksa, Asalanka, D. de Silva, Shanaka (C), Hasaranga, Theekshana, C. Karunaratne, A. Fernando, Vandersay.

Afghanistan XI : N. Zadran, Zazai, I. Zadran, Ghani, Gurbaz (WK), Nabi (C), R. Khan, M. Ur Rahman, N-ul-Haq, N. Ahmad, Janat.

Prediction

I expect Sri Lanka to be formidable opponents to the Afghans and must get the job done.