T20 WORLD CUP 2024 Full Schedule 
Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan, 2nd ODI Prediction, Playing 11 and Pitch Report
Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan Prediction: Sri Lanka will once again go up against Afghanistan in the 2nd ODI after being defeated in the 1st ODI by 6 wickets. The 2nd ODI will be played on the same ground, Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota, on June 4, 2023.
Afghanistan gave an amazing overall performance as a team to defeat a high-caliber team like Sri Lanka quite comfortably. Ibrahim Zadran missed his 4th century in his 9th ODI as he got out on 98 on the bouncer by Rajitha. Rahmat Shah also scored a half-century to his name and was the key performer of Afghanistan in giving them stability on the field.
Hashmatullah Shahidi was happy with the team’s performance and with Ibrahim Zadran, who was given the player of the match for his 98 runs inning.
We’re happy about this performance. They were 84 for 4, but DDS and Asalanka batted well, but we recovered well and the bowlers went about their plans. We were happy to keep them under 270. The last two overs, we faced a fielding penalty, but the bowlers delivered. He’s a match-winner for us (on Ibrahim Zadran), I trust him a lot, he’s improving every match and hopefully he’ll continue to do well for us.
Hashmatullah Shahidi said in the post match interview
Srilanka will need to win the next match because if they don’t, they will lose the series, which is important for the ICC Cricket Super Cup. Charith Asalanka was the top scorer from the Sri Lanka side as he scored 91 runs, and Dhananjay de Silva scored 51 runs to take their team to a decent total.
The Sri Lankan debutant Dushan Hemantha scored 22 runs in 20 balls but could not take any wickets in his nine-over spell. Sri Lanka bowlers need some good spinners and should include Wanindu Hasaranga or Maheesh Theekshana in their side for a better bowling option.
Dasun Shanaka, the team captain of Sri Lanka, was not very disappointed but had faith in their player, who could make a comeback in the next match against Afghanistan.
The plan was to play positive cricket, we had experience in the dug-out, but unfortunately things didn’t go well. 300+ would have been challenging, but we felt short, we did bowl well, he came straight away from IPL to a 50-over game (on Matheesha Pathirana). With the WC qualifiers close by, we wanted to have a look at him. We need to win games, but the WC qualifiers is important, we’ll rotate the bowlers around throughout the series
Dasun Shanka said in the post match interview
The second ODI can be the decider for both teams, and it will be exciting to see if Sri Lanka can pull one back or if Afghanistan will win their home turf series to impact the upcoming World Cup positively.
Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan ODI Head-to-Head Record
Sri Lanka and Afghanistan played 8 matches against each other, in which Sri Lanka won 4 matches, and Afghanistan won 3 matches.
In the last match, Afghanistan won the match against Sri Lanka by 6 wickets, in which Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah gave an amazing batting performance to give their team a strong win. Kasun Rajitha took 2 wickets and showed some swing bowling skills in the initial over of the match, but it was not enough to stop the Afghani player from scoring runs.
Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan: Pitch Report of Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota, 2nd ODI
| Match Played | 24 matches |
| Batting first won | 9 matches won |
| Batting second won | 12 matches won |
| Average 1st innings score | 253 runs |
| Average 2nd innings score | 201 runs |
| Highest Team innings total | 368 by Sri Lanka |
| Lowest Team innings total | 112 by Kenya |
The pitch of the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium is quite neutral. However, it’s been a little slow lately. In the middle overs, spinners will be crucial, and if there are no due comes, second-side spinners will have better pitch grip.
In the last match between Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan, the pitch was neutral, and the scores were decent, but batsmen found it easy to bat on as the ball was not getting much turn or swing.
In the second innings, there was a bit of swing in the initial over, but after that, batters dominated the match and chased the 269 targets quite comfortably.
Team Preview of the Sri Lanka Team
The Sri Lanka team needed some changes in the 2nd ODI because they were not able to give a hard time to the Afghani batters. Wanindu Hasaranga should get a chance in the 2nd ODI as Afghanistan does have many right-hand batters, and it is hard to judge the doosra from his hand.
Dimuth Karunaratne missed his first chance in the comeback game in ODI as he got out on 4 runs, but Sri Lanka will be going to back him for the next match as he has been one of the best ODI batters for Sri Lanka past few years.
Charith Asalanka missed his chance to score his second century after being run out on 91 runs which was a disappointment because he was in the best flow from the Sri Lanka side and could have given them a 20-40+ runs cushion in the total if he had stayed till the end.
Sri Lanka needs to win the next match to stay in the ODI series because if they lose the next match, then it will be over for them to win the series, and it is important points for them to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup, which will happen in 2027.
Team Preview of Afghanistan Team
Afghanistan Team played the match quite well and will be looking to win the next match against the Sri Lanka team to gain a winning moment in the World Cup, which is going to happen in October 2023 in India.
How Afghanistani batters handled the situation and played their game with maturity is commendable. They showed the world why they are in the main group of World Cup 2023 and why they deserve the place there after defeating a team like Sri Lanka quite comfortably in the 1st ODI in their own backyard.
Afghanistan will keep the same team in the 2nd match against Sri Lanka, and they don’t need any changes right now because, in the last match, every player did the right job, which is why they won the match easily.
Players to watch out for in Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan Match
1- Charith Asalanka will be a key player from the Sri Lankan side after performing well in the first match by scoring 91 runs in 95 balls.
2- Kusal Mendis got a good start in the 1st ODI but failed to convert it into a higher score as he got out on just 11 runs and got out on a ball that could be hit anywhere else rather than straight to the fielders.
3- Wanindu Hasaranga should play the 2nd ODI for Sri Lanka, and it was a mistake by the Sri Lanka management team not to give him a chance in the 1st ODI.
4- Pathum Nissanka is the Sri Lankan opener who played 8 ODI matches and scored 276 runs with an average of 39.42. He is still one of the great young talents who can be amazing together.
5- Ibrahim Zadran showed why he is a class batter and one of the top in-form talents in world cricket right now, as he gave a player-of-the-match performance scoring 98 runs. He played only 9 matches in ODI and scored 531 runs with an average of 66.37. He also scored 3 centuries and one half-century. In the last match, he missed his fourth century by just 2 runs. He has the hunger to score more which can be seen by him when he gave a post-match interview.
It’s very hard to get out like that. I wanted to make a hundred and finish the game, but it’s part of the game. To be honest, we bowled well, executed the plans and didn’t allow them to go past 300, then me and Rahmat put on a good stand. 269 was a good score, but not a big score, we wanted to restrict them under 300, we knew it was a good wicket and wanted to bat long. I was middling the ball well, was waiting for the loose balls and we wanted to rotate strike. I just told him not to play any extra shots.
Ibrahim Zadran
6- Noor Ahmad bowled quite well in the first ODI as he picked up 1 wicket, but his expectation was higher than how he performed.
Probable Playing 11 in Sri Lanka Vs Afghanistan
Sri Lanka Probable Playing 11
Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis(w), Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka(c), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushan Hemantha, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Lahiru Kumara
Afghanistan Probable Playing 11
Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik
