Afghan danger looms over Sri Lanka
WE HAVE JUST ONE LIFELINE AND WE HAVE TO WIN IT, LANKAN SKIPPER MATHEWS SAYS
Five-time champions Sri Lanka are in danger of making an early exit from Asia Cup after their loss in the opener and their survival depends on the must-win contest against Afghanistan at the Shaikh Zayed Cricket Stadium (3.30pm start) today.
Their only plus on in an otherwise forgettable outing against Bangladesh was the form of their pace frontman Lasith Malinga, who finished with exceptional figures of four for 23.
The veteran sling arm bowler showed he is not over the hill yet and justified his selection after a year-long sabbatical almost instantaneously.
With the trademark kissing of ball, a trimmer looking Malinga, ran well and showed that his lethal slow dipping yorkers and subtle variations are still sharp in his armoury.
His two wickets in his first over lit up the tournament and sent in a strong message that the talisman has the burning desire to keep going.
Though Malinga’s comeback to form is a huge plus for skipper Angelo Mathews, the latter’s immediate worry is the shaky batting line-up. Spineless to say, the least on a wicket that had no demons but runs written all over it.
Batsmen fail
Lack of intent and poor shot selection clearly came to the fore in the batting line-up that is missing the likes of Dinesh Chandimal and Akila Dananjaya. Baring Dilruwan Perera, Upul Tharanga and Suranga Lakmal, none of the batsmen could offer any resistance.
“Batting was the main downfall to be honest as Lasith was absolutely brilliant. Taking three wickets for three runs and then we let them off the hook. We dropped a few catches in the field. Still 260 was a chaseable target but it was a let down by the top order batsman,” said Mathews in the post-match press briefing.
The skipper accepted that his side has an uphill task and getting their act together immediately to stay afloat in tournament would be a huge challenge.
“We are definitely under pressure as we have just one lifeline and we have to win it. It’s going to be a quick turnaround as we got just one day of practice and then we head to Abu Dhabi,” said Mathews,
The morale in the Afghanistan camp would have been boosted having seen what Bangladesh have done to the Lankans. They are a side currently enjoying the transition as full member and have shredded the underdogs tag to being a fearless unit ready to brace the best in world cricket. Though they are far from being ranked as contenders to lift the trophy here it will be cardinal sin to take them lightly.
Afghanistan’s success against full member nations also have been impressive this year. They have won nine of their 12 ODIs and have also stunned Ireland 2-1 away. Most importantly, they have the highly rated legspinner Rashid Khan in their ranks — who is simply riding the success wave. He will be bowling in tandem with teenage mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who ran havoc in the Windies line-up in the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe in March earlier this year.