At the start of last month, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan were involved in a nail-biting affair in the preliminary round of the Asia Cup. From being on the cusp of ousting Sri Lanka - and more importantly - progressing to the Super Four, a net run rate miscalculation resulted in Afghanistan’s campaign coming to a halt.
Cut to Monday, and Hashmatullah Shahidi’s Atalan army will hope to take care of the unfinished business at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune. Despite both the teams having many bright spots, Afghanistan will hold the edge.
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After all, despite a week-long break, the team is on a high after defeating Pakistan - its fiercest rival - for the first time in ODIs. The spin-dominated bowling pack will be hoping to continue the good work and end up on the winning side in a fast-evolving continental rivalry.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will be eager to prove that its win against defending champion England was not an aberration. Despite losing the services of Lahiru Kumara - the player of the match against England who hurt his thigh during training - the addition of the seasoned Dushmantha Chameera as a replacement could well end up being a boon for the team.
Chameera will be hoping to repeat Angelo Mathews’ heroics against England and help Sri Lanka emerge as the main challenger to the top four in the points table.
Despite Afghanistan’s unconventional spin troika having done the trick against Pakistan last week, a short boundary and the heavy impact of dew in the evening may result in Afghanistan opting with just two spinners.
It will be interesting to see how the two Kusals - opener Perera and captain Mendis - combat the Afghanistan spin on the day. The duel between these two and the spinners may decide the standalone No. 5 in the points table.
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