The 1996 champions Sri Lanka and giant-slayers Afghanistan will face off in a mid-table battle at the Maharashtra Cricket Asociation Stadium in Pune on Monday to keep their hopes of qualifying for the semifinals of the ICC World Cup 2023 alive.
With wins over 1992 World Cup winners Pakistan and defending champions England, Afghanistan have proved that they are no longer pushovers in white-ball cricket, while Sri Lanka have managed to keep their flag flying with two wins after starting the tournament with a hat-trick of defeats.
Sri Lanka, with four points, are ahead of Afghanistan, who also have four points, on the points table. While SL are placed fifth, the Afghans occupy the seventh spot.
But with their tails up, the Afghan team will start the game as the favourites by a small margin because the experience of the Lankans can't be taken out of the equation.
As far as the head-to-head record in ODIs is concerned, Sri Lanka lead 7-3 in 11 matches between the two teams, with one game ended as no-result. In ODI World Cups, Sri Lanka have won the two matches the teams have played so far in tournament's history.
In the last ODI between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, which was played in Lahore during the Asia Cup just before this World Cup, the Lankans held their nerve to win the close game by just two runs.
