Five-time winner Sri Lanka take on Afghanistan as Dasun Shanaka lost the toss and put to bat first in the Asia Cup opener on Saturday (August 27).
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka included two new faces in their Playing XI, Dilshan Madushanka and Maheesh Theekshana aka Junior Malinga. For Afghanistan, this is their 100th T20 International match.
Sri Lanka skipper, Dasun Shanaka: We would have bowled first as well. Six batters, two all-ronders and three genuine bowlers. We've got two new faces - Dilshan Madushanka and Matheesha Pathirana are making their debuts.
Afghanistan skipper, Mohammad Nabi: We want to bowl first here. It's a fresh wicket, there's cricket after a long time in Dubai. We have plenty of all-rounders.
Pitch Report
“There's quite a bit of grass here. It will definitely seam around. It might grip a bit, but it'll be straight bowling from the spinners. This has been a great cricket ground in general. Terrific surface for batting and bowling, there should be a lot of runs,” Scott Styris and Wasim Akram analysed the pitch.
Rashid Khan: Amazing journey (Afghanistan's 100th T20I) so far. It's a great achievement for us. This is a format we are famous for. We have done so well in the last few years. Happy and hopefully it keeps continuing. There are a few areas we have to work on and there are areas we are struggling for few years. Our batting department - we can be much better. This Asia Cup and World Cup is a great opportunity for us to get the experience. We learn from our mistakes and we get better. In our fast bowling, we were struggling before. Now we've got some good fast bowlers. The more we play, the more we got better. We all know how good he (Hasaranga) is. He has been amazing for Sri Lanka, all around the world and in IPL as well. It'll be a great contest. As a team, we go and enjoy our skills, enjoy the competition and enjoy the tough times.
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana.
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi(c), Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi
