Kumar Sangakkara Sri Lanka
Kumar Sangakkara [Reuters] Reuters

Afghanistan take on Sri Lanka at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur in the seventh One Day International game (ODI) of the Asia Cup 2014 championship on Monday.

Where to Watch Live

The play is set to begin at 8:00am GMT. Live coverage will be available on Star Life OK. Follow the live text updates of the game on ESPN Cricinfo.

Overview

Afghanistan registered their first win in the competition by defeating Bangladesh in the fifth match on Saturday.

The tournament debutants had found themselves in trouble having lost five wickets till the 27<sup>th over with only 90 runs on the scoreboard. However, Asghar Stanikazi (90) and Samiullah Shenwari (81) combined in the remaining overs to form a partnership of 164 runs for the sixth wicket, taking their team's total to 254 runs by the end of the 50th over.

The Afghan bowlers took the game to the hosts as Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran dismissed their opening batsmen in the first two overs with just one run on the board. The remaining Bangladesh batsmen fought hard and managed to reach a total of 222 runs before losing all their wickets.

Zadran and Hassan got two wickets each to their names and Mohammad Nabi notched three while Mirwais Ashraf and Shenwari took one each.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, managed to secure a victory against India in their previous game on Friday.

The World Champions set a target of 265 runs for the Lankans to chase in the opening innings but not without losing nine wickets. Ajantha Mendis and Sachithra Senanayake displayed their exceptional bowling skills by taking four and three wickets respectively.

Angelo Mathews' side started well with Kusal Perera (64) and Lahiru Thirimanne (38) posting a 80-run partnership for the first wicket. Later, the Lankan wickets started tumbling at a frequent rate with only Kumar Sangakkara standing his ground as the wicketkeeper scored 103 runs before being dismissed by Mohammed Shami in the 49<sup>th over.

With two wickets remaining and 258 runs on the board, Thisara Perera (11) and Mendis (5) made no mistake in adding the remaining seven runs to seal the victory with four balls remaining.

The Lankans are the only unbeaten team in the Asia Cup 2014 so far and have a chance to seal their place in the final, should they triumph against Afghanistan on Monday. They are currently second in the points table with eight points from two matches.

Team News

Afghanistan

Probable Lineup: Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Karim Sadiq, Nawroz Mangal, Asghar Stanikzai, Mohammad Nabi (c), Najibullah Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Samiullah Shenwari, Hamza Hotak, Mirwais Ashraf

Sri Lanka

Probable Lineup: Kusal Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews (c), Thisara Perera, Chaturanga de Silva, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga

Afghanistan