🏏T20 Asia Cup 2025: AFG vs SL, 11th Match, Group B at Abu Dhabi🏏

🏏T20 Asia Cup 2025: Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka, 11th Match, Group B at Abu Dhabi on 18/09/2025 at 8:00 PM IST🏏

Afghanistan in must-win territory, Sri Lanka look to avoid big defeat

Both teams have strong bowling line-ups but will want their batters to fire

When: Thursday, September 18 at 6:30 PM local time (8 PM IST)

Where: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

What to expect: Teams batting first have won three out of the five games so far. And in general, Afghanistan do prefer batting first and setting a target. In the only game Sri Lanka have played here this campaign, they chased down 140 against Bangladesh inside 15 overs.

Teams Watch

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka did leave out Matheesha Pathirana after his poor outing against Bangladesh and they will likely stick with that combination given how miserly Maheesh Theekshana was.

Probable XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Kamil Mishara, Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka(c), Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara

Tactics & Matchups: Over the last year, Sri Lanka have fared much better than Afghanistan in the powerplay. Given how matches have been won and lost in that phase this tournament, Sri Lanka will be trying to get the upper hand with both bat and especially with the ball given Afghanistan's recent opening woes ever since they moved Ibrahim Zadran down to No.3.

Afghanistan

Despite the tight loss to Bangladesh, Afghanistan will be tempted to stick with the same combination for this crucial clash.

Probable XI: Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan(c), Noor Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Tactics & Matchups: Azmatullah Omarzai, the reigning ODI player of the year, has been their best player in both games. Initially struggling to make an impact in T20Is, Omarzai is striking the ball at over 172 in 2025 in the format and has already broken the record for the fastest fifty by an Afghanistan batter earlier in the tournament. The 2024 T20 WC semi finalists might contemplate giving him a promotion.

In the spotlight

Rahmanullah Gurbaz has hit 248 runs at a strike rate of 172 against Sri Lanka in six T20I matches. These are outstanding numbers, but perhaps unsurprising ones when you consider that he has been a regular player in the Lanka Premier League, often playing in the more successful teams. He has played alongside the likes of Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, and Binura Fernando, so he has a better idea than most about the challenges Sri Lanka's bowling unit will present. Given his stats against Sri Lanka, his team-mates will probably pay attention.

Dushmantha Chameera has, in his most recent run in international cricket, begun to carve out a niche as Sri Lanka's most dependable fast bowler. He still pushes 145kph when in good rhythm, but importantly, he has learned to combine that pace with excellent control. The yorkers at the end of the innings are in especially good shape at the moment, and there are death overs when he bowls full and wide, almost exclusively, and has found success with that method. Sri Lanka's strategy, generally, is to use him to take wickets with two overs in the powerplay, then have him shut out scoring options with two overs at the death.

Team news

Although licking their wounds after the loss to Bangladesh, Afghanistan may keep the same XI.

Afghanistan (probable): 1 Saqidullah Ataq, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Ibrahim Zadran, 4 Gulbadin Naib, 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Azmatullah Omarzai, 7 Karim Janat, 8 Rashid Khan (capt.), 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 AM Ghazanfar, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi

Sri Lanka will also likely ride with the same crew. Theekshana went wicketless against Hong Kong, but maintained a good economy rate. Matheesha Pathirana and Fernando may have to sit out.

Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Kamil Mishara, 4 Kusal Perera, 5 Charith Asalanka (capt.), 6 Kamindu Mendis, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Nuwan Thushara

Stats and trivia

• Gurbaz's strike rate of 172.22 against Sri Lanka is his highest against any opposition.
• In 2025, Chameera has taken 11 wickets in five innings, and maintained an economy rate of 6.40, although he is frequently called upon to bowl in the powerplay and the death.
• Since 2020, these teams have played seven T20Is. Sri Lanka has won four of those matches, and Afghanistan three.

Did you know?

- Across their T20I history, Afghanistan have not successfully chased down a 140+ target against a full member team other than Zimbabwe.

- Since Jan 2024, only India and Australia have fared better than Afghanistan in terms of win percentage when batting first while in run chases, Afghanistan are the worst side (among full members).

What they said:

"We are very optimistic (against Sri Lanka). We have played two games here and if we win on Thursday, we go on top of the group. There's plenty to play for. There is disappointment but we have to dust ourselves off. There are ups and downs. You have to make sure you have to ride those waves. We have to bounce back on Thursday. If we can win well, it gives us a lot of confidence. There's plenty to play for. We should have played better, but we have to pull our socks up for Thursday" - Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan head coach.

Preview

Given how their campaign turned out in the T20 World Cup last year, Afghanistan were certainly one of the favourites to progress to the Super Four. However, heading into their final group game, they are now in must-win territory after the setback against Bangladesh. Their batting lineup has come under the scanner now in the tournament even though the sample size is just two games.

Sediqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai were the only big contributors in their big win over Hong Kong. The rest didn't fire against Bangladesh as well and with Atal getting dismissed for a golden duck, the task only got tougher. Omarzai sizzled, though, striking some monstrous sixes but Afghanistan clearly need more players to stand up in that middle order. And this needs to happen against a side that's been largely impressive in the tournament so far.

Sri Lanka have largely kept the runs down and with the bat, they have looked good except for that wobble towards the end of the chase against Hong Kong. While in an ideal world they wouldn't have wanted their qualification to depend on this result, a three-way tie on points will be in store if they slip up. In such a scenario, Afghanistan will certainly go through and Sri Lanka's progress will depend on the margin of the loss. For example, if Sri Lanka chase 160, they will need to score at least 93 to stay ahead of Bangladesh's NRR. If they defend 160, they will have to ensure Afghanistan take at least 11.3 overs to chase the target down. Ideally, they would back themselves to tick any of these boxes as a bare minimum.