When Sri Lanka and Bangladesh meet in the Asia Cup on Thursday, they will be looking to recover from injuries to their key players and start the campaign with a win. Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup in 2022 (in the T20 format) but till Tuesday could not even announce its squad for this phase as some of its players are injured while two have tested positive for Covid-19. Sri Lankan players Wanindu Hasranga, Dushmantha Chamira, Lahiru Kumara and Dilshan Madhushanka are struggling with injuries while Kusal Perera is yet to recover from the Covid-19 infection.
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Even before this setback, the Sri Lankan team was going through a poor form in ODIs this year. They suffered a 0-3 defeat at the hands of India earlier in the year and were then beaten 2-0 by New Zealand. The team then managed to beat Afghanistan at home and scored several runs in the first ICC qualifier in Harare but still failed to improve its game against top rivals which will be a concern for them.
To challenge Bangladesh, they will have to hope that Pathum Nisanka (687 runs in 2023), Dimuth Karunaratne (481 runs) and Charith Aslanka (341 runs) who have been their best batsmen so far this year, perform well.
Also, the team hopes that skipper Dasun Shanaka will find his form against Bangladesh, who has not batted aggressively all year except for his century against India. Talking about the bowling, spinner Mahish Tikshina (23 wickets in 10 matches in 2023) and fast bowler Kasun Rajitha (14 wickets) will have to make up for their key bowlers.
The Sri Lankan team can take solace from the fact that the Bangladesh team is also struggling in a similar situation. The Bangladesh team will miss the injured Tamim Iqbal, fast bowler Ibadat Hussain and wicketkeeper-batsman Liton Das. Das is still not recovered from the viral fever that ruled him out of the entire Asia Cup on Wednesday. Wicketkeeper batsman Anamul Haque Bijoy was included in place of Das.
Bangladesh are usually strong at home but have lost ODI series against England and Afghanistan this year. A win against Ireland ahead of the Asia Cup is not enough to ease their worries. However, they have players with individual performances in both batting and bowling.
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Captain Shakibul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Nazmul Shanto have scored more than 400 runs this year while young player Tauhid Hriday has also scored more than 300 runs. But most of these runs came against Ireland. Experienced Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam and Taskin Ahmed have bowled well this year but have not been able to do anything special against strong opponents like England or India.
A win on Thursday will be crucial for both the teams as they face Afghanistan in their next Group B match. Both the teams will make all possible efforts to win as the ‘net run rate’ can be important considering the possibility of rain.
Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan head to head
So far Sri Lanka and Afghanistan have faced each other 10 times in ODI cricket out of which the Sri Lankan team has maintained their dominance by winning 6 times. During this period, the Afghanistan team managed to beat Sri Lanka three times, while one match did not result.
The teams are as follows.
Sri Lanka : Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendins (Vice-Captain), Charith Aslanka, Dhananjay de Silva, Sadira Samarawickrama, Mahish Thikshina, Dunith Velange, Mathisha Pathirana, Rajurana, Dushan, Rajuran, B . Fernando., Pramod Madushan.
Bangladesh : Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Nazmul Hussain Shanto, Tauhid Hriday, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hussain Dhrubo, Mehdi Hasan Miraj, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmood, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Shaq Mehdi Hasan, Naeem Sheikh, Sham Sheikh . . , Tanjeed Hasan Tamim, Tanjeed Hasan Shakib, Anamul Haque Bijoy.