Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Pool A match at Dunedin, Preview: Lankan lions aim to return to winning ways

Pool A Match no 12 at the University Oval in Dunedin on Sunday. The match, which will be aired in the wee hours for the Indian audience, will be an opportunity for both the teams to get their first win of the tournament. Sri Lanka especially, would be desperate to get back to winning ways after a poor record in the last couple of months in New Zealand.

Sri Lanka head to the game after losing both their warm-up fixtures, with the margin of defeats being five and seven wickets to South Africa and Zimbabwe respectively. The losses only piled on what has been an ordeal in the recent past. The Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODIs), played against New Zealand right before the World Cup, was meant to give them a much-needed practice. However, it turned out to be a bitter experience as the Sri Lankans lost the Test and ODI series 0-2 and 2-4 respectively. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: POINTS TABLE

Their fortunes hardly improved after playing their opening game of the mega-event, getting outplayed by the Black Caps in all departments. Pace spearhead Lasith Malinga, who was out of action for quite some time due to a nagging ankle, flopped in his ODI return as he conceded 84 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket. A pace spearhead getting hammered in that manner is bound to have its effect on the other bowlers, especially the youngsters who are playing their first-ever Cricket World Cup (Suranga Lakmal). ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS

The batting order not much spirited either, including the legendary pair of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. While the latter was dismissed on 39 off 38 balls, Jayawardene, who had retired from Tests in August last year, was dismissed on a duck. The Lankans failed to build a partnership throughout the game, with the Black Caps striking at regular intervals.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, could not have had a more forgettable World Cup debut, losing their game to Bangladesh by 105 runs in what could have been a close contest. The bowling was satisfactory, with the Afghans managing to restrict everyone except Mushfiqur Rahim and star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan. They could have set themselves a much-lower target had it not been for one of Bangladesh’s most successful batting pairs. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage

The Afghans were never in the game in reply, losing their first three wickets with as many runs on the board. Afghanistan’s most experienced duo of Mohammad Nabi and Samiullah Shenwari put up a fight whatsoever with scores of 44 and 42 respectively. The side must get the two to function in whatever capacity possible against Sri Lanka.

Squads:

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (c), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan (wk), Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne (wk), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake, Jeevan Mendis, Dushmantha Chameera.

Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi (c), Nawroz Mangal, Asghar Stanikzai, Samiullah Shenwari, Afsar Zazai (wk), Najibullah Zadran, Nasir Jamal, Mirwais Ashraf, Gulbadin Naib, Hamid Hassan, Shapoor Zadran, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Javed Ahmadi, Usman Ghani

Source: http://www.cricketcountry.com/news/sri-lanka-vs-afghanistan-icc-cricket-world-cup-2015-pool-a-match-at-dunedin-preview-lankan-lions-aim-to-return-to-winning-ways-253818