Asia Cup 2022, Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan: Game changing observations

Afghanistan picked up a stupendous win over Sri Lanka (PC: Twitter)

Sri Lanka and Afghanistan went against each other in the first match of Asia Cup 2022. The match took place at the Dubai International Stadium. 

Afghanistan won the toss and opted to field first. The bowlers were right on the money from the very beginning and reduced the Sri Lankan batters to just 105 runs. 

There was a bit of help for the pacers early on and the Afghan bowlers took full advantage of it. Within the second over of the innings the Sri Lankan team was down to 5 for 3 and were looking down the barrel. The lower order batters did put up a bit of fight but that was not enough for the day. 

So, what did the Afghan bowlers do right on the night?

Let us have a look at the line and lengths of the Afghan bowlers in the power plays. 

Afghanistan bowlers' powerplay pitch map

Observation

• The Afghanistan bowlers were looking for swing from the very beginning and it was visible from their attempt to try and bowl fuller in the powerplays. 
• The three wickets in the powerplays came in deliveries on the Good Length. 
• The biggest thing to notice was the discipline of the bowlers. They stuck to the off stump line and did not deter much from the good and full length area. 

The Sri Lankan batters never revived from the rude shock that they got at the very beginning. A total of 105 runs was not much for the Afghanistan batting line up. They powered their way through to the total without losing any wickets and finishing the match with 9.5 overs left in the match. 

The other teams in the competition must keep on watch on the Afghanistan team as they have proved themselves as a strong contender of the title with the performance in this match.

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