Pitch and weather: The Pune surface in recent times has shown a propensity for high scores, but there’s also been some assistance for the spinners – something both sides could benefit from. That said, dew might come into play in the evening, so the toss will prove crucial as usual.
Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan Highlights 2023, ICC CWC 2023 30th Match, Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, Monday 30-10-2023.
Hashmatullah Shahidi says his decision to bowl is down to the fact that there will be dew in the evening. Noor Ahmad makes way for Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Kusal Mendis says he would have batted first in any case as the pitch looks pretty good and they wanted runs on the board. He confirms that Dushmantha Chameera will play, and that Dimuth Karunaratne replaces Kusal Janith Perera at the top of the order.
Toss: Afghanistan chose to field.
Sri Lanka team: Pathum, Dimuth, Kusal † (c), Sadeera, Charith, Dhananjaya, Angelo, Maheesh, Kasun, Dushmantha, Dilshan.
Afghanistan team: Gurbaz †, Ibrahim, Shahidi (c), Rahmat, Omarzai, Ikram, Nabi, Rashid, Mujeeb, Naveen, Fazalhaq.
Head to Head In ODI’s: 11
Sri Lanka Won: 7
Afghanistan Won: 3
Sri Lanka ODI Rankings: 7th
Afghanistan ODI Rankings: 9th
Form guide
(last five completed ODI’s, most recent first)
Sri Lanka WWLLL
Afghanistan WLWLL
Match Timings: 8:30 AM GMT | 2:00 AM Local
Umpires – Chris Gaffaney, Richard Illingworth
TV Umpire – Alex Wharf
Match Referee – Javagal Srinath
Reserve Umpire – Marais Erasmus
Match number – ODI no. 4687
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2023 Fixture
ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Points Table
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2023 Squads
Post Match Presentation
Kusal Mendis: Little bit short of runs, 240 not enough on this pitch, 280-300 would have been a good score. Our bowlers did well in first 10 overs, dew came in and it became hard to bowl later. Ball was coming good on the bat in the second innings; Madushanka has done really well, young guy…going forward (he will get better)
Hashmatullah Shahidi:
Quite happy and proud of the team…the way we performed in all departments. Pakistan chase gave us a lot of confidence and belief that we can chase any kind of target. We started really well in bowling; the chase was very professional and I am very happy about it. Coaches are always positive, we worked very hard before the World Cup. Also right now all coaching and management staff are working hard and giving us confidence, before Pakistan game, coach’s words changed my mindset a lot. As a captain you should lead from the front foot so I am trying my best, I am very happy that i finished the game and i will try to maintain that in upcoming games. Rashid Khan is the best player and he is a very energetic guy so all team is full of energy around him. I want to congratulate to our nation and i thank Indian people for supporting us and coming to the stadiums.
Fazalhaq Farooqi, Player of the Match:
(Rashid Khan translating) It feels pretty good, we have three wins in the tournament, happy to contribute and win the game. I looked for swing early on but didn’t get it so then I kept it simple and hit the right areas and that was the plan for the spell and I got success in it. We struggled in the past in the last overs…gave away too many runs but we bowled with variations today and the hard work in net sessions helped, couple of days rest also worked in our favour. We tried to bowl as many variations as possible. Thank you
