After losing the opening match by a narrow margin, Afghanistan will look for a win against Sri Lanka in the next match. SL vs AFG, second T20I 2024, will take place on Monday, February 19. Sri Lanka leads the SL vs AFG T20I series 1-0 after winning the opening match.
The second T20I of SL vs AFG will also be held at the same venue of Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla. Sri Lanka won the first T20I by 4 runs in a thrilling clash. Batting first, the hosts were bowled out for 160 in the first innings.
Wanindu Hasaranga (67) made a half-century after the best top-order batsman failed to make it big. They later bounced back with a brilliant bowling show. Afghan captain Ibrahim Zadran scored an unbeaten 67 runs.
However, he could not lead the team to victory. Pacer Matheesha Pathirana took a 4-wicket haul to demolish the Afghan batsmen. In the end, Binura Fernando defended 11 runs in the final over to propel Sri Lanka to a spellbinding victory.
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Head-to-head records between SL and AFG in T20Is: 2nd T20I, 2024
Statistics Matches Sri Lanka won Afghanistan won No result Overall 6 4 2 0 At the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Sri Lanka 1 1 0 0 In the last 5 matches 5 3 2 0 In Sri Lanka 1 1 0 0
SL vs AFG: Key Stats
Sri Lanka have a good record against Afghanistan in the shortest format. If we take a look at the head to head records between SL and AFG in T20Is, both teams have played 6 matches. Sri Lanka has won 4 matches while Afghanistan has won 2 games.
Both teams have only played 1 match in Sri Lanka – the previous T20I match. Afghanistan defeated Sri Lanka in the 2023 Asian Games last year. However, both teams had second-string squads in the tournament.
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SL vs AFG: 5 recent matches
If we talk about the last five SL vs AFG matches in T20Is, Sri Lanka has won 3 games and lost 2. Sri Lanka lost one match in the 2023 Asian Games last year. Their other defeat against Afghanistan came in 2022, when they lost in the 2022 Asia Cup. These two matches are the only instances where Afghanistan surprised Sri Lanka in T20Is.
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Key moments and standout performances
Rahmanullah Gurbaz once smashed 84 runs in the Asia Cup 2022 clash against Sri Lanka. Ibrahim Zadran also scored an unbeaten 67 runs in the previous match. Former batsman Asghar Afghan scored 62 runs in March 2016 to lead Afghanistan to victory against Sri Lanka in the 2016 T20 World Cup.
Former Sri Lankan player Tillakratne Dilshan scored an unbeaten 83 runs against Afghanistan in 2016, which remains the highest knock ever achieved by a Sri Lankan batsman against Afghanistan. Wanindu Hasaranga scored an unbeaten 67 runs in the previous SL vs AFG T20I. Nuwan Untilara took a 4-wicket haul against Afghanistan during the 2023 Asian Games.
Matheesha Pathirana took 4 wickets in the last SL vs AFG T20I match. Hasaranga took 3 wickets in a T20I game in November 2022. Fazalhaq Farroqi took 3 wickets in the last match. All these are among the best performances during the clashes between SL and AFG in T20Is.
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Trends and patterns
In the first meetings between the two sides since 2016, Sri Lanka managed to beat Afghanistan by large margins. The only exception was the 2022 Asia Cup match, when Afghanistan won by 8 wickets.
However, the last two games were close matches. For example, Sri Lanka won the previous T20I by 4 runs, while Afghanistan won the previous clash by 8 runs. Therefore, Sri Lanka has found it difficult to overcome Afghanistan with ease in recent times.