Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Today Match Prediction 04 Jun 2019

afg vs srl Match Prediction & Analysis

Afghanistan will be desperate for a strong comeback against Sri Lanka in the 7th game of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in Cardiff on Tuesday.

After suffering a demoralizing 10-wicket defeat against New Zealand, Sri Lanka will be keen to get back to winning ways in their second of the tournament. The side certainly needs to raise their game with the bat in break their winless streak in the competition. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne and co. will need to play their best cricket in order to beat a team like Afghanistan 

On the other hand, Afghanistan produced a decent effort with the bat and ball against Australia. The side definitely needs to improve their batting in order to challenge top-ranked teams in this tournament. Gulbadin Naib will be confident that the side can beat Sri Lanka in this game.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Afghanistan Preview

Gulbadin-led unit will be keen to make a strong comeback with the bat in this game. The side struggled to get going in their innings and managed to score 207 runs in 38.1 overs. The experienced players will need to shoulder a lot of responsibility and make sure Afghanistan can bat their full quota of overs.

In the batting department, the side will be relying on the experienced trio of Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Shehzad and Hashmatullah Shahidi to produce the bulk of the runs on the board. Coming in at no.3, Rahmat Shah played well against Afghanistan and scored 43 off 60 balls with the help of six boundaries. He added 51 runs with Hashmatullah Shahidi to lead a recovery of sorts after the openers perished early in the innings.

Wicket-keeper Mohammad Shahzad registered a duck in the game played against Australia. His opening partner Hazratullah Zazai could not do any better as he was dismissed by Pat Cummins for a duck. The opening pair will need to take a conservative approach in the initial overs as the ball tends to move around with the new-ball. Mohammad Nabi failed to deliver a decent score in this game. All-rounder will need to produce runs with the bat against Sri Lanka.

Captain Gulbadin Naib played well and decided to take on the Australian bowlers. He added 83 runs with Najibullah Zadran to put pressure back on the Australians. Naib scored 31 off 33 balls with the help of four fours and a six.

Gulbadin was well supported by Najibullah Zadran, who scored 51 off 49 balls with the help of seven fours and two sixes. The lower-order batsman has chipped in with decent scores for Afghanistan in the last couple of one-day games played this season.

Afghanistan Predicted Playing XI:

Gulbadin Naib (captain), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Dawlat Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan

Afghanistan Actual Playing XI:

Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hamid Hassan, Gulbadin Naib, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Hazratullah Zazai, N Zadran, Rashid Khan, M Shahzad, Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Dawlat Zadran

Sri Lanka Preview

The side is currently going through a terminal decline in one-day cricket and will need to do something special to turn things around in this World Cup. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne might make one or two changes for this game.

Sri Lanka has managed to win only two games out of 15 played since October 2018. The side will need to improve their batting performance in this game.

In the batting department, the side will be hoping that the likes of Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Perera and Angelo Matthews can produce decent scores in this game. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne showed grit and determination to eke out a score against New Zealand.

Left-hander scored 52 not out off 84 balls with the help of four boundaries. His innings was the only bright spot for Sri Lanka in this game. Besides Karunaratne, wicket-keeper batsman Kusal Perera failed to capitalize on his good start and scored 29 off 24 balls with the help of four fours.

The experienced batting trio of Lahiru Thiramanne, Kusal Mendis and Angelo Matthews will need to produce scores for the side in this game.   The team management might promote Matthews up the order as he came into bat at no.6 in the previous game played against New Zealand. Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera and Isuru Udana are players that can score quick runs at the back end of the innings. Perera scored 27 off 23 balls to help Sri Lanka push their score beyond 120-run mark.

In the bowling department, the side will be relying on the likes of Suranga Lakmal and Lasith Malinga to produce wickets with the new-ball.

Sri Lanka Predicted Playing XI:

Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), Lahiru Thiramanne, Kusal Perera (wk), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Jeevan Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga

Sri Lanka Actual Playing XI:

Dimuth Karunaratne, Suranga Lakmal, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis , Thisara Perera, Nuwan Pradeep, Isuru Udana, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Lasith Malinga

Weather Conditions

The pitch is expected to be a great one for the batsman, whereas the quick bowlers will get some lateral movement from this surface with the new-ball. The weather forecast for the game does not look good as heavy downpours are expected throughout the day.

Venue

Sophia Gardens in Cardiff is going to the host the game between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. The Islanders suffered a comprehensive defeat against New Zealand at this venue. Afghanistan will take heart from the fact they have beaten Sri Lanka in the group game played in Asia Cup competition.

Toss: To Bowl

Both the sides will be looking to win the toss and bowl first in a bid to make use of the pitch conditions. With the rain expected for the game, batting second will be the way to go for both the teams.