Afghanistan and Sri Lanka are all set to lock horns with each other at the Maharashtra Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. The two countries have witnessed breathtaking victories in the previous matches with now the two teams facing each other to rule out the final result. Afghanistan’s skipper Hasmatullah Shahidi has won the toss and opted to bowl first hoping to put pressure on the other team. With Sri Lanka batting first, it will be interesting to see which team will emerge victorious in today’s match.
Afghanistan’s spinning attack dismissal
Afghanistan is currently the sixth team on the ICC Rankings Table, after having registered a mindblowing 8-wicket victory over Pakistan in their last match. The victory was rather a shocking one as the Afghani batsmen chased down the target of 283 runs with the help of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran who added two century stands and gave a flying start to their chase.
Afghanistan’s youngest spinner Noor Ahmad scalped an extraordinary 3-wicket haul against Pakistan then and essentially contributed to the victory. But in a statement by skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi, he affirmed that Noor Ahmad won’t be playing against Sri Lanka. In his place, Fazhalhaq Farooqui will lead the spin game against the opponent team. Despite Noor being instrumental in the team’s victory against Babar’s men, the management decided to replace him with Farooqui.
At the evens
While Sri Lanka stands at the 5th position, Afghanistan leads the 6th position on the Rankings Table. Despite the ranks, the two teams stand a rare chance of making it to the semi-finals provided that they are just 4 points from five matches. Both the teams must be brimming with confidence hoping that after today’s win, they can certainly hope to seal their spot in the semi-finals.
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