After the qualifiers have ended, we are into the end game now of the Asia Cup. The continental tournament, usually a biennial affair, is happening after a gap of four years. Covid-19 surely was a blip that humankind will want to forget, but will always be etched in history. But the people have fought and come back stronger against the infection over a couple of years. And sports has been at the very centre of the fight back. It did not curb Covid-19, it never could, but it made sure that people can move on from what happened.
And so the Asia Cup begins, with six neighbouring teams to test the best amongst themselves. India, on paper, is undoubtedly the best team, but the T20 format can burn a piece of paper in a whisker of a second.
But for starters, India will only play on Sunday. Afghanistan will start their campaign against Sri Lanka to kick off the tournament after 1,428 days.
A few years back, Afghanistan would stand no chance against Sri Lanka. But with Sri Lanka’s decadence, and the steep rise of Afghanistan, both the teams stand strong against each other. In fact, group B including Bangladesh shall prove to be a very difficult group with all three teams having an equal chance of qualifying for the top four.
The last time the two nations clashed in a T20I, Angelo Matthews was the Lankan captain, Mohammad Shahzad was Afghanistan’s blistering opener, and Tillakaratne Dilshan won the man of the match award.
Interestingly, this will only be the second T20I between the two nations over the advent of the youngest format of the game, Sri Lanka thrashing Afghanistan in their first-ever match at the 2016 T20 World Cup in a super 10 group match.
Afghanistan will depend on their Rashid Khan-led spin bowling. Their batting, with Jonathan Trott taking over the coaching responsibilities, will hope to be on the mark in the shortest format. And the batters have shown development in the recent tours of Zimbabwe and Ireland.
Though they arrive after losing the series against Ireland, it was a closely fought one, and they did fight back well after losing the first two games.
Sri Lanka on the other hand, have the second-best Asia Cup record with five trophies after India’s seven. But are clearly not the favourites or second favourites in the tournament. They lost their last T20 outing against Australia 1-2 and now are left to play without their ace pacer Dushmantha Chameera.
Their batting and bowling both have been brilliant at times, and timid on occasions. The return of Dinesh Chandimal to the format shall boost their side by all means. The form Bhanuka Rajapaksa displayed for Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League shall also be a positive for the islanders.
The crisis-ridden country has been through a lot in recent times, and as seconded by skipper Dasun Shanuka, a reckoning performance at the Asia Cup will be the most exciting thing for them. The best way to give a glimmer of hope will be to make a winning start against Afghanistan.
Predicted Playing XIs:
Sri Lanka: Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Kusal Mendis (WK), Dasun Shanaka (C), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Jeffrey Wandersay, Maheesh Theekshana and M Pathirana.
Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Noor Ahmad, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (C), Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Farooqi, Naveen-Ul-Haq.
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