The third match of the Asia Cup sees Afghanistan making their bow in the tournament on Monday in what is a must win match for Sri Lanka when the two sides do battle in the opening match of the competition in Abu Dhabi.
Afghanistan know that a win will see them through to the next round while Sri Lanka must win and hope Bangladesh do them a favour in the final group match. We should be set for a decent contest here.
Bet on the major football leagues with Fun88 and get a £10 bonus if there is a goal in the 88th minute or later. Click the manner above to bet. 18+ T&Cs apply
Afghanistan
All eyes will be on Afghanistan here. They have qualified for the World Cup so they are becoming regulars to these big tournaments but they won’t want to make up the numbers in either so there will be a little bit of pressure on them. The likes of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rehman have become world names and have the platform to show their worth here.
When you look at the Afghanistan bowling attack they have the personnel to do some real damage in this tournament so if they can deliver the goods with the bat then there is nothing to stop them delivering something special at some point. One win from their two matches should be enough to get them through to the next stage.
Sri Lanka
Losing their opening match was bad enough for Sri Lanka but the margin in which they lost it by was even worse because they are now sitting ducks and even a win here will not guarantee their progress, unless it is by a ridiculous margin. They have to win here though else they are out so the pressure on them is obvious.
We saw what we already knew in the first match. Sri Lanka are no longer very good at ODI cricket. Even a spell from the ages by Lasith Malinga did nothing for them and they have now won just six of their last 26 matches in this format. Their batting has declined in ODI cricket beyond belief and they really need their big players to stand up and be counted here.
Team News
Afghanistan will decide whether to play an extra seamer in Sayed Shirzad although with their spin attack you would think they would keep seam to a minimum so the extra batsman in Najibullah Zadran could play.
Sri Lanka have Akila Dananjaya available for this match which is huge for them. He is likely to come in for Dilruwan Perera. Niroshan Dickwella is in line to come in should Sri Lanka shake up a failing batting line up.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Betting
I think Afghanistan have a real shot in this match but whether we can trust them to get over the line is another thing. In any rate I think they are probably about the right price and maybe even a shade on the short side so rather than take them to win the match I will have them on side on the handicap.
Afghanistan are getting 4.5 wickets and 23.5 runs on the handicap and I think that is enough for them to get home. Whether Afghanistan win this match or Sri Lanka do I think this is going to be a low scoring match so the runs gap is quite big. Afghanistan have a bowling attack to get stuck into this Sri Lanka top order so whichever way the game is played I think they can keep within this handicap.
Tips
WON – Back Afghanistan (+4.5 wickets/23.5 runs) to beat Sri Lanka for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Bet365
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018
