The 30th match in ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 between Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka will be played in Monday, Oct 30, 2023 at 02:00 PM, hold on Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune.
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AFG vs SL match previews
Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka will be a must-win encounter of the ICC World Cup 2023 on this Monday, October 30 and held on Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune.
The two teams have 4 points after 5 matches, and a victory will raise their hopes of reaching the semi-finals. Mathematically, the losing team will not be eliminated, but their hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals will then depend on other results.
This is mark 11 times the match between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka happen in ODI matches. And in total 11 matches, Sri Lanka won 7 of those, while Afghanistan only have 3 victories, and 1 match end with No Result.
In World Cup, Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka happened 2 times, and Sri Lanka won both of those Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka matches.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s World Cup began with defeats to Bangladesh and India, before disappointing England and Pakistan, with the loss to New Zealand in between. They now have a chance to overcome an opponent they have faced a lot this year. Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran are the top scorers for Afghanistan at this World Cup. Gurbaz collected 224 compared to Zadran’s 173. They shared the partnership of the century against Britain and Pakistan and, once again, they could be the top players in Afghanistan.
Seamer Naveen-ul-Haq and spinner Rashid Khan were Afghanistan’s leading wicket-takers in the tournament. They have six of each. Recently, Spinner Noor Ahmad played his first match in Cricket World Cup 2023 and took 3 wickets. He is likely to retain his place in the playing squad as Afghanistan’s tactics mainly focus on rotation.
Afghanistan is clearly a calmer unit than before. They will need all this composure against the Sri Lankan opposition after their big win over England. Afghanistan’s bowlers, in particular, will be challenged by Sri Lanka’s aggressive batting order.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka escaped three consecutive defeats against South Africa, Pakistan and Australia by defeating the Netherlands and England consecutively. This has taken them from the bottom of the rankings to a top 6 position – and boosted their ambitions to reach the top 4.
Sri Lankans had three batsmen with over 200 runs each in the tournament. Middle-order batsman Sadeera Samarawickrama was their leading run-scorer with 295 in five innings, at an average of 98.33. He will come into this match with a half-century – and has beaten Pakistan earlier in the tournament.
Bowling wise, Dilshan Madushanka is a standout performer for Sri Lanka. He has scored 11 goals in 5 matches in this tournament. That run includes four matches against the Netherlands and three matches against Australia. Averaging more than two wickets per match in ODI cricket is an impressive achievement.
Sri Lanka will be without Matheesha Pathirana due to injury for this match and the rest of the tournament. However, replacement Angelo Mathews is a solid addition to the team and XI. The former captain and experienced all-rounder should continue to add value to the unit.
Team squad
Afghanistan Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Abdul Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Riaz Hassan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah.
Sri Lanka Squad: Kusal Mendis (c & wk), Chamika Karunaratne, Dunith Wellalage, Dushan Hemantha, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva.
Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka match predictions
The Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka match will held on Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, Which is the first ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match in Pune. the faces between Rashid Khan and Angelo Mathews could be an intriguing battle.
Sri Lanka have four wins against Afghanistan in their last five ODI meetings. They met in the Asia Cup and three-match ODI series earlier this year. Overall, Sri Lanka have beaten Afghanistan seven times in this international format – and Afghanistan have beaten Sri Lanka three times in Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka match.
- Sri Lanka win 1.59, Afghanistan underdogs 2.38
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