CWC'19: Key players to look for in Afghan-Lanka clash

New Delhi [India], June 4 (ANI): After losing the first matches of their World Cup campaign, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka will both search for their first victory on Tuesday at Cardiff.
Afghanistan lost to the defending champions Australia after scoring a below-par total of 207 while Sri Lanka was also bowled out on a low score of 136 by New Zealand, where Kiwi's won comfortably by ten wickets.
Sri Lanka is currently ranked number nine in ICC team one-day international (ODI) rankings and is not at its best form. They struggled to put runs on the board and also lacked in the bowling department in their warm-up matches and lost both the games. While on the other hand, Afghanistan had beaten Pakistan in the warm-up game. They showcased the all-around performance with batting and bowling.
Here are the five players to look for in Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka clash:

Dimuth Karunaratne

Sri Lanka's skipper and opening batsman is in a good form and has been scoring runs. In the last three matches including two warm-up games and one against New Zealand in the World Cup, he scored 155. He provides steady start to the side and gives a platform for the middle order batsman to score runs. He was the only Lankan batter who looked in good touch in the team's first World Cup match against the Kiwis, scoring an unbeaten knock of 52.

Angelo Mathews

All-rounder Angelo Mathews adds experience and skills to the Sri Lankan side as he possesses both batting and bowling capabilities. He can be crucial in death overs as he has the power-hitting quality as well as in slog overs in bowling, with yorkers and slower ones. In last three matches, he scored 81 runs while in bowling he didn't get a chance to ball.

Mohammad Shahzad

Afghanistan's aggressive wicket-keeper batsman is known to hit any bowler out of the ground. Shahzad with big hitting capabilities provides great strength to the team's batting. He is a crucial batsman in the top order. Apart from that, Shahzad is the main man behind the stumps for the team.
Gulbadin Naib

Afghanistan's skipper and fast bowler Naib adds dual ability of bowling as well as batting and is a vital member of the squad. He can bat in the lower order and can bowl also whenever needed.
Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan has gained popularity in the cricket playing nations with his leg-break and googly bowling skills. Khan can deliver leg-break and googly with almost the same action and it is hard for the batsmen to differentiate between them. He has been in an impressive form with the ball as he took 17 wickets in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL). 

Afghanistan takes on Sri Lanka today at Cardiff. (ANI)