Sri Lanka will face off against Afghanistan in the 1st match of Asia Cup 2022 on August 27th (Saturday) at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai.
Sri Lanka have not been in a good form off late in the T20 format. The batters have failed to fire, and the onus and hopes would be on Danushka Gunathilaka, Charith Asalanka and Pathum Nissanka along with captain Dasun Shanaka to take on the Afghan bowling and start the tournament with a win.
The Lankan bowling department would miss pacer Dushmantha Chameera, who's missing out due to a calf injury. This means Asitha Fernando, Chamika Karunaratne and Dasun Shanaka will comprise the pace department, while the spin department would be led by Maheesh Theekshana, all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga and Dhananjaya de Silva.
Afghanistan are coming into the Asia Cup with a narrow loss against Ireland in the 5-match T20I series. Najibullah Zadran has been the top run scorer in T20Is this year with 255 runs in 9 innings. Hazratullah Zazai has 205 runs to his name in 8 matches and the Afghan batting would have to chin up to take on the Lankan bowling.
In the bowling sector, left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi has been the top-wicket taker for Afghanistan in T20Is this year, picking up 11 wickets in 8 matches. Ace spinner Rashid Khan has also picked up 9 wickets this year in 10 matches. Naveen-ul-Haq and captain Mohammad Nabi would have to ably support the Afghan bowlers to stand a chance to start their Asia Cup tournament with a win.
