TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsAgainst a wounded Bangladesh, Afghanistan had more than a decent opportunity to get on the board in this Asia Cup. But as it turned out, Hashmatullah Shahidi’s men put on a highly underwhelming performance in Lahore to find themselves in danger of missing from the Super Four stage of the 2023 Asia Cup.
On the other hand, there is Sri Lanka, who are literally wounded with a plethora of injuries in their squad, but despite that, they put on a complete performance against Bangladesh in their tournament opener. The Chennai Super Kings’ duo of Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana picked up six wickets combined to put Bangladesh to sleep.
September 3, 2022, is a day that Rahmanullah Gurbaz would want to remember ahead of this clash, especially after the failure in the opener against Bangladesh. That day, the right-hander put on a stunning display (84 off 45), with four fours and six sixes to put Sri Lanka under a ton of pressure.
It is the same opponent but this time, Afghanistan will be under immense pressure because if they put one wrong foot, they will be out of the tournament. Similarly, if Sri Lanka lose by a big margin, chances are that they could be out, too. The contest, then, is effectively a must-win match for both sides.
Things to watch out for
Afghanistan’s shaky bowling unit
Afghanistan’s bowling unit was extremely shaky against Bangladesh, for not only did they start on the worst possible note, they were consistently poor throughout the encounter. Fazalhaq Farooqi, their go-to-pacer, started wayward and continued that display for the rest of the innings.
The fact that they didn’t include an out-and-out pacer to accompany Farooqi in the opening game was a big miss. Given that Gulbadin Naib and Karim Janat are the two other pacers in the playing XI, Afghanistan might have to depend a whole lot on their spin unit.
So, what did their spin unit do? Flop. Rashid Khan did not have the best of days, with the Bangladeshi batters playing him with 100% control in overs between 1-40, which was the first time the leg-spinner had induced zero fale shots. If Afghanistan are to win, they need Rashid to step up
How will Afghanistan fare against Theekshana-Pathirana?
Theekshana and Pathirana pose a very different problem in comparison to the other bowlers. While Theekshana’s variations and use of seam position in the powerplay make it almost impossible for the batters to score runs, Pathirana’s slinging action and angle give the batters almost a tough time reading him from the hand.
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Interestingly, it won’t be the first time that Afghanistan will go up against the 20-year-old pacer. Pathirana made his ODI debut against Afghanistan, but since then, the right-arm speedster has grown from strength to strength. While there wasn’t any noticeable pattern - in terms of wickets - in the clash against Bangladesh, there was one thing in common.
That being the batters having a hard time deciphering his variations. If the conditions in Lahore continue to be listless for the bowlers, the variations from the 20-year-old could help make something out of nothing.
Pitch and Conditions
Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore is one of the most friendly wickets for batters, and that was visible in the clash between Bangladesh and Afghanistan the other night. Bangladesh put on a show with the bat, scoring 334/5 after 50 overs, courtesy of tons from Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Najmul Hossain Shanto.
Since the start of 2022, the average first innings total at the venue reads 301, and there is perfect equality between teams winning, batting first and chasing - two a piece. But considering that Bangladesh won batting first, expect the team winning the toss to do the same.
Pace still remains the key, with the quicks having picked 30 wickets, as spinners have picked up the other 20 wickets at the venue over the last two years. But, in all, expect another good contest where batters get maximum profit.
Tactical Nous
Sri Lanka’s reliance on Pathum Nissanka has been unreal. Since 2022, the right-hander has scored 1192 runs out of the 5921 runs they have scored with him in the team. That accounts for 20.1% of the runs Sri Lanka have scored in the time period. So, that makes Nissanka a crucial wicket for Afghanistan.
There is an interesting choice of bowling option that Afghanistan could try out against the right-handed opener, and that is Mohammad Nabi. It might come as a surprise, but the off-spinner has removed the Sri Lankan opener once and has drawn 22.2% false shots.
Probable XIs
Fazalhaq Farooqi’s performance was underwhelming, and that could come as a point of concern for Afghanistan, who aim to strengthen its bowling unit. In that context, the management could ponder bringing in Mohammad Saleem Safi.
Afghanistan XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Sri Lanka have found the sweet balance that they desired ahead of the tournament. So, unless there are any late injury concerns, expect the hosts to play the same team that triumphed over Bangladesh earlier in the tournament.
Sri Lanka XI: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana
