SL vs AFG Head to Head Records in T20Is- 3rd T20I, 2024
Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan T20Is (Credits: Twitter)

Sri Lanka and Afghanistan go head to head in the SL vs AFG 3rd T20I in Dambulla on February 21. The match starts from 7 pm IST with Sri Lanka already winning the series by winning the first two games. They are now looking for a clean sweep. 

After the close encounter in the first T20I, Sri Lanka humbled Afghanistan in the second T20I. They scored 187/6 with the bat and bowled out Afghanistan for just 115. All the Sri Lanka bowlers got wickets with Wanindu Hasaranga the skipper taking 2/19. In the process, he went past 100 T20I wickets. 

Afghanistan needs their openers Rahmaullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran to score runs. Mohammad Nabi becomes a key figure in the middle-order and Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Noor Ahmad are the key bowlers for Afghanistan. The visitors have dearly felt the absence of Rashid Khan. 

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Speaking about SL vs AFG head to head, in seven T20Is now, Sri Lanka have won five and Afghanistan two. Sri Lanka won the one-off Test previously and clean-swept them in the ODI series as well. The series which was seen as a dress rehearsal for both teams has been dominated by Sri Lanka barring the closely fought first T20I. Afghanistan are staring down the barrel ahead of the third T20I.

SL vs AFG Head To Head Records (Overall Stats)

Format Test ODI T20I
Matches Played 1 15 7
SL Won 1 10 5
AFG Won 0 4 2

SL vs AFG: Key Statistics

The two teams have played one Test match that was won by Sri Lanka by 10 wickets. In 15 ODI matches between the two sides, Sri Lanka have won 10 games and Afghanistan five. In seven T20Is, The Lankans have won five and Afghanistan just two. The visitors are yet to win a game in this series.

SL vs AFG: Recent 5 Encounters

The two teams have played seven SL vs AFG T20Is with Sri Lanka winning five games and Afghanistan two. If we talk about the last five games between the two sides, Sri Lanka have won four games and lost just one. On the other hand, Afghanistan has lost four games, including the first two T20Is. Sri Lanka lost to Afghanistan in the Asian Games 2023 last year. The other defeat was in an Asia Cup 2022 match. 

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Key Moments and Stand-out Performances (Players)

One key moment in this SL vs AFG T20I series was in the first game when Afghanistan came very close to beating Sri Lanka for the third time in T20Is. Chasing 161 to win, Afghanistan finished 156/9 and lost the match by just four runs. The hosts then humbled the visitors in the second T20I. 

Speaking of stand-out performances, Ibrahim Zadran’s unbeaten 67 was one of the stand-out performances of this T20I series. Unfortunately, the knock came in a losing cause. Wanindu Hasaranga’s two-wicket spell helped him go past 100 T20I wickets. He has picked up three wickets in two games.

Trends and Patterns

Afghanistan lost to Sri Lanka easily in the first few games in ODIs and T20Is. However, since the Asia Cup 2022 win for Afghanistan, matches have been closely fought. Afghanistan defeated Sri Lanka in the ODI World Cup as well last year. However, since then they have not won a single game against the Lankans. 

SL vs AFG Head-to-Head Records in T20Is- 3rd T20I, 2024

Matches Played: 7

Afghanistan Won-2

Sri Lanka Won- 5

Most Runs For Sri Lanka- Dhananjaya de Silva- 90

Most Wickets For Sri Lanka- Wanindu Hasaranga- 5

Most Runs For Afghanistan- Rahmanullah Gurbaz-165

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Most Wickets For Afghanistan- Mujeeb Ur Rahman-6

Conclusion

Sri Lanka have now won five out of the seven T20Is against Afghanistan. Two of those wins came in this series and they are looking for a clean sweep to boost their performance ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024.

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Anshuman Roy is an author at Cricketaddictor. He has been working with the organization since January 2022 and he has written more than 5000 articles for the website.