Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan kicks off Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai

The battle for Asian supremacy is back after four years. The much-awaited Asia Cup kicks off at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday where Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will lock horns in a Group A clash. This is, of course, the second time that the event is going to be played in T20I format and the first time in six years. Sri Lanka have been the second-most successful Asia Cup side although their recent form hasn't been that great. Afghanistan, too, lost their last T20I series against Ireland and so both the teams will seek a fresh start.

Interestingly, these two Asian sides were up against each other only once in T20Is six years ago where Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan by six wickets. 

Spin vs Spin

It will be an interesting battle between the spinners of two sides. Rashid Khan is currently one of T20 cricket's most sought-after players and will be a key player. Afghanistan are likely to field another three - captain Mohammad Nabi, off-spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman and left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad. Rashid is currently the fifth-ranked T20I bowler and only four scalps away from reaching 450 wickets in 20-over cricket. 

Sri Lanka have two spinners - Wanindu Hasaranga (6th) and Maheesh Theekshana (9th) - in the top 10. Hasaranga was the highest-wicket taker in T20Is last year and this year he has taken 10 wickets in five matches. Theekshana has been a bowler to bank on especially inside the powerplay and so far he has done a fantastic job for Sri Lanka. Spinners will play a huge role in Dubai where the spinners have an economy rate of a shed over 6.5.

Players to watch out for

Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka will be one of many all-rounders Sri Lanka will field in the match. Shanaka has been in supreme touch with the bat having an average of 50.2 and a strike-rate of 151.25 in the last 10 matches. The right-hander helped Sri Lanka pull off a miraculous chase in their last series against Australia and will be inspired to continue in the same fashion. 

Although Rashid Khan hasn't been at his devastating best of late in T20Is, he will still be the major threat for Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan batters haven't played Rashid much in T20s and it will be a tough challenge for them to see his four overs off. 

Najibullah Zadran was Afghanistan's highest run-getter in their recently concluded five-match T20I series against Ireland striking at about 165. He will always be there to provide impetus to Afghanistan's innings in the second half. 

Sri Lanka lost their premier fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera to injury and the pace duo of Asitha Fernando and Chamika Karunaratne will try to fill the void.

Pitch and conditions 

The average first innings score in T20Is at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium is 142 and teams batting second have won slightly more number of matches. The spinners will enjoy the conditions because of the slow nature of the wicket and numbers suggest that it is not the easiest of pitches to hit spinners.

The match will begin at 8 pm BDST. Bangladesh is the other team in this group and will start their campaign on 30 August.