Sri Lanka meet Afghanistan in ODI series decider today

• Nawaz outlines World Cup Qualifier preparation plans

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi

Sri Lanka assistant head coach Naveed Nawaz

How well Sri Lanka are prepared for the upcoming ICC World Cup Qualifiers will be tested today at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota when they confront Afghanistan in the third and final ODI with the three-match series level at one-all.

After an uninspiring performance in the first ODI which they lost, Sri Lanka really hit their straps in the second ODI to beat Afghanistan by a thumping record margin of 132 runs.

That win was described by Sri Lanka’s assistant head coach Naveed Nawaz as “a perfect exhibition of our plans where everything was executed”.

“If you look at the difference between the first ODI and the second, at the 30-over mark we were 137-4 in the first game and in the second, we got 10 runs more than that. The key factor is the wickets, we lost four wickets in the first game in the first 20 overs and only two in the second. So going into the last 20 overs we could take more risks because we had wickets in hand. We could double the score from there and get to 323. That’s really the plan. Every game, it doesn’t work that way. But what we are trying to do is to get them to play more of our A game every time we go into the middle,” said Nawaz at the pre-match press conference.

“Our plans for a par score is 300 plus.  It does not always happen either due to the state of the pitch or if we lose wickets early. For the past one year we have been working on how to make it consistent. To get to 300 plus we have to play well in the first 30 overs keeping our wickets intact.”

More than Afghanistan, this series for Sri Lanka is crucial to get their combinations right for the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe later this month.

“For the qualifying rounds we have done a lot,” said Nawaz. “We had a free period before the series against Afghanistan and in that time, we worked a lot on the players’ fitness along with trainers from the SLC High Performance Centre. We have lifted their fitness to a higher level and in the ongoing series we have controlled their food intake through a dietician who is part of the team. There is also a psychologist with whom the players have worked with. We have done all this to regain our lost status in ODI cricket. I think when we go for the World Cup Qualifiers, we will be in a position to play good cricket.”

“The missing link in our fast-bowling attack was Dushmantha Chameera. We missed his experience a lot in the middle. Dushmantha returning to the side is a great boost. We must try and protect him from injuries as much as we can and manage his workload to keep him playing for Sri Lanka for a long period.”

When questioned about the threat that Afghanistan’s world class spinner Rashid Khan could pose when he makes a comeback from injury, Nawaz replied, “We all know that you can’t play cricket with names. On that day what we have to do is to play according to the ball bowled by Rashid Khan. We had many discussions regarding that and we have an idea of how to tackle him. If he is a threat, we have to identify what it is and keep the damage down to a minimum. On that day if Rashid Khan is giving us an opportunity to score runs against him, we must also take it.”

Doubts still lingered on the fitness of fast bowler Lahiru Kumara who pulled a hamstring and walked off the field in the first ODI. “We are still waiting for his report whether he is cleared to play after his injury and know his availability”.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan will be looking to beat Sri Lanka and record their first ODI series win over them.  

“It means a lot to go to the World Cup with a win over Sri Lanka. It will be good for us to come to Sri Lanka and beat them in their own home soil. We will try our best to do that tomorrow,” said Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi.

“Asian conditions suit our spinners a lot and our batting is improving day by day, match by match. This time in the World Cup and the Asia Cup we will give our very best. I believe this team can be one of the best in these two competitions.”    

Hashmatullah said that a final decision of whether Rashid Khan can play will be taken after the net session yesterday.  

“We will check him in the net session today and if he feels good we will decide after the practice.”