PUNE, India (AP) — Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss Monday and sent Sri Lanka in to bat first in a Cricket World Cup game between two teams even on competition points.
Both teams have registered surprising wins in this tournament — each beating defending champion England — and started the match at Pune in contention for the playoffs.
Sri Lanka was fifth in the standings with four points but a better run rate than Afghanistan, which also had four points but was in seventh spot.
Sri Lanka revived its hopes with back-to-back wins over out-of-sorts England and the Netherlands to overcome a poor start to its tournament.
Afghanistan shocked England by 69 runs at New Delhi in one of the greatest World Cup upsets and followed that with an eight-wicket win over Pakistan in Chennai.
Sri Lanka has made two changes from its win over England, with opener Dimuth Karunaratne replacing Kusal Perera.
The 1996 champions also had an injury substitution approved. Pace bowler Lahiru Kumara, who took 3-35 against England, was ruled out of the remaining tournament with a thigh injury.
Dushmantha Chameera was drafted into the squad as a like-for-like replacement, and he found a spot immediately in the starting lineup.
Afghanistan made a change from its win over Pakistan, with left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmed losing his spot to pace bowler Fazalhaq Faruqi.
The pitch at the MCA Stadium should be a good one for batting. Dew is a factor in the evenings, and should aid the chasing side, a factor for Afghanistan’s decision at the toss.
Lineups:
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (captain), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
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