ICC Men’s CWC 2023: Sri Lanka looking for a hat-trick of wins as they take on Afghanistan next
The two teams that are going to lock horns against each other today have had similar fate in the World Cup so far. Of the five matches, they have won two and lost three. They tasted success in their previous outing and would look to continue to pick up from there.
The 30th match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 will be played between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka on October 30 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
Head-to-Head
Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have played 11 ODIs against each other since 2014, of which Sri Lanka have won seven, Afghanistan have won three, with one match not producing a result. In India, they have never played an ODI against each other. At the World Cups, Sri Lanka lead 2-0 against Afghanistan.
| Particulars | Afghanistan | Sri Lanka |
| ICC ODI Rankings | 9 | 7 |
| Wins in ODIs | 3 | 7 |
| At World Cups | 0 | 2 |
Performance in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 so far..
Afghanistan and Sri Lanka will play their sixth match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Both teams have won two and lost three matches.
| Match number | Afghanistan | Sri Lanka |
| 1 | Lost to Bangladesh by 6 wickets | Lost to South Africa by 102 runs |
| 2 | Lost to India by 8 wickets | Lost to Pakistan by 6 wickets |
| 3 | Beat England by Pakistan by 69 runs | Lost to Australia by 5 wickets |
| 4 | Lost to New Zealand by 149 runs | Beat Netherlands by 5 wickets |
| 5 | Beat Pakistan by 8 wickets | Beat England by 8 wickets |
Squads
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq.
Sri Lanka: Kusal Mendis (c), Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Angelo Mathews, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushan Hemantha, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera
Injury updates
Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Kumara has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament after suffering a thigh injury during practice. Dushmantha Chameera has been named as his replacement. There are no other injury concerns for Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
Playing conditions
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune will host the encounter between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. It will be a day and night match. The venue will host its second match of this tournament. The team batting second won the previous match played here as it successfully chased 257. The conditions will be favourable for batting. Expect a high scoring contest.
Weather
The weather is expected to be mostly sunny. The maximum temperature attained during the day will be 33 degrees Celsius. There will be 15% cloud cover and no chance of rain. The wind will blow from the east.
Players to watch out for
Rahmanullah Gurbaz: The stylish right-handed opening batter of Afghanistan has provided good starts to his team with the bat. He has muscled 224 runs in five matches at an average of 45 and strike rate of 101.
Rashid Khan: The talented leg spinner of Afghanistan is difficult to score runs off. He has picked six wickets in five matches. Besides, he can be handy with the bat lower down the order.
Sadeera Samarawickrama: Sri Lanka’s right-handed middle order batter is inching close to 300 runs in this World Cup, having scored 295 in five matches at an average of 98 and strike rate of 107.
Dilshan Madhushanka: This left arm speedster of Sri Lanka has been very impressive with 11 wickets in five matches, including one four wicket haul.
Milestones alert
Rahmat Shah needs 81 runs to complete 3500 ODI runs
Hashmatullah Shahidi needs 57 runs to complete 2000 ODI runs
Rashid Khan will play his 100th ODI
Mujeeb Ur Rehman needs 3 wickets to complete 100 ODI wickets
Kusal Mendis needs 56 runs to complete 3500 ODI runs
Match details
Date: October 30, 2023
Time: 2:00 PM IST
Venue: Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
Live streaming: Star Sports, Hotstar
All the statistics are sourced from ESPN Cricinfo