Afghanistan will need to play with more flair and freedom in their must-win Asia Cup group match against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Arshdeep Singh performing under pressure in the Super Over against Sri Lanka can be attributed to meditation and yoga that he practices regularly.
India and Bangladesh have two points each with Suryakumar Yadav's men leading the standings owing to a superior net run rate. Sri Lanka and Pakistan occupy the third and fourth spots respectively.
ri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka smashed a belligerent century as Indian bowlers endured their worst day in the Asia Cup before Arshdeep Singh produced a brilliant 'Super Over' to win the game for his side in Dubai on Friday.
Pathum Nissanka (50) and Kamil Mishara (46 not out) made light work of a modest target to power Sri Lanka to a comfortable six-wicket win against Bangladesh.
The islanders, led by Charith Asalanka, have quietly built a formidable unit combining top-order solidity with middle-order power and a spin attack tailor-made for UAE conditions.
In all the three group matches, Sri Lanka thrived while chasing and one would expect the Islanders to continue the same trend if they win the toss on Saturday.
Opener Pathum Nissanka struck 68 as Sri Lanka beat Hong Kong by four wickets in their Asia Cup match in Dubai on Monday.
Bangladesh pulled off a thrilling four-wicket win against Sri Lanka, chasing 169 with just one ball to spare in Dubai on Saturday.
Along with Hasaranga, Sri Lanka have Dunith Wellalage and Maheesh Theekshana among spin bowling options.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction saw some foreign names earning big bucks, headlined by Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green
Abhishek Sharma reached 931 ratings point, which is 12 more than the previous best rating of 919 attained by England's Dawid Malan in 2020.
Nissanka's cameo guides Sri Lanka to 4 wicket win over Zimbabwe in 1st T20I
India pacer Arshdeep Singh linked his success in the Super Over against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup Super 4s match to his ability to nail the wide yorkers.
Suranga Wellalage, Sri Lankan all-rounder Dunith Wellalage's father, died on September 18, the same day his son played the Asia Cup Group fixture against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi.
Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka felt the first two overs bowled by pacers Nuwan Thushara and Dushmantha Chameera set the platform for their commanding Asia Cup victory over Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Sri Lanka head coach Sanath Jayasuriya has asserted his side doesn't have a "mental block" against India after going down in the Super Over in Friday's Asia Cup match in Dubai.
Sri Lanka ended on the wrong side of history, slumping to their second-lowest T20I total and lowest all-out total by a Test-playing nation against Zimbabwe in the second T20I at Harare on Saturday.
Felt like a final, Arshdeep was always my choice for Super Over: Surya
'Talat has done very well in domestic cricket. I know him for several years. He has been working really hard with his game, so I'm really happy for him.'
The just-concluded Asia Cup was deeply saturated with off-field drama. But even amidst the bedlam, there were sparks of brilliance, emergence of new stars and tears of failure.
Pakistan survived a wonderful spell from an enraged spinner Wanindu Hasaranga to beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in an intense Super 4 match to stay alive in the Asia Cup, in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of Asia Cup 2025.
Against Bangladesh, Samson wasn't even considered good enough to come inside the top seven of the line-up and that begs a question as to what is he doing in the team if he isn't good enough to come ahead of Axar Patel.
Spinner Prabath Jayasuriya led the charge with a five-wicket haul as Bangladesh collapsed for just 133 in their second innings, handing Sri Lanka a win by an innings and 78 runs.
Players from the other teams who could push the Men in Blue to the limit.
The result was the first drawn game in Galle for 12 years.
Australia, who have already secured their place in the final of the World Test Championship against South Africa, won the opening Test, also in Galle, by an innings and 242 runs.
Earlier on Sunday, bad light stopped play with the Lankans needing 125 more runs to secure a well-deserved turnaround victory in the third Test against England and avoid a 3-0 series whitewash.
IMAGES from the third Test between England and Sri Lanka at The Oval on Saturday
'Pathum Nissanka is easily one of the best batters to have come out of Sri Lanka in the recent past and he has delivered once again,' he tweeted with an applause emoji.
Nissanka had featured in a 41-run opening partnership with Dimuth Karunaratne, who scored 20 before being undone by a rising delivery from Kagiso Rabada that forced an edge behind to wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne.
Travis Head impressed in Australia's 2023 tour of India showing his proficiency against spin
New Zealand seamer Jacob Duffy was adjudged player of the series for his eight wickets.
This is Sri Lanka's biggest victory over Australia in ODIs in terms of runs.
Johnson is a coveted player on the T20 franchise circuit and took a million-dollar contract to play in the 2024 Indian Premier League.
Dimuth Karunaratne's Test career ended in a whimper as Sri Lanka's most prolific Test opener fell caught behind to Kuhnemann after making 14.
Another Sri Lankan batter made his way to the record books with Dimuth Karunaratne...
Bangladesh handed Sri Lanka a crushing seven-wicket defeat in their first warm-up match of the ICC ODI World Cup, in Guwahati on Friday to make a winning start.
The all-star team announced by the ICC features four players from Sri Lanka, three each from Pakistan and Afghanistan and one from the West Indies.
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