Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib won the toss and chose to bowl against Sri Lanka under overcast conditions in their World Cup clash at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Tuesday. Sri Lanka is off to a good start and has scored 96 from 14 overs at the loss of a wicket.
Both Afghanistan and Sri Lanka are in their second match of the tournament after being soundly beaten by Australia and New Zealand, respectively, in their first matches.
While Sri Lanka were walloped by New Zealand by 10 wickets, Afghanistan had put up a gritty show against Australia before losing to them by 7 wickets.
Afghanistan were unchanged for the match in the Welsh capital and Sri Lanka brought in seamer Nuwan Pradeep for Jeevan Mendis. "The conditions are suitable for the bowlers and there's cloudy weather, so it's a good toss to win," said Naib.
Going into the match on Tuesday, it would come in handy to note that Afghanistan have won more ODIs than Sri Lanka since the last World Cup. This is despite Afghans having played 22 fewer games than the Lankan side. And hence, despite Sri Lanka's longevity in the game, the odds are evenly stacked for the two teams on Tuesday.
Teams
Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad (wkt), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib (capt), Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan.
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Perera (wkt), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Lasith Malinga.