Afghanistan and Sri Lanka hope to keep faint semi-final dreams alive
The Big Picture – Teams want to capitalize on momentum
Although this World Cup got off to a late start and had some great events, it was a bit more generous in terms of unexpected results. While the top four teams in the current standings are most likely to advance to the knockout stages, there is a group of teams right behind them ready to capitalize on any mistakes.
Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have won three of their last four league games, each with ten points, and have a good chance of advancing to the semi-finals. But in these four games, Afghanistan will face Australia and South Africa, while Sri Lanka will also face India and New Zealand.
This makes Monday's match in Pune all the more exciting. A victory for either team would leave room for error in at least one "tougher" game, and a defeat would make any hopes of reaching the semifinals quite slim.
Both sides come into this game in a certain shape. Well, a team that has lost three out of five games can be that good.
While defeats against India and New Zealand may have played a role, the opening loss to Bangladesh hurt Afghanistan. But historic victories over Britain and Pakistan injected new impetus into the Afghanistan campaign.
As for Sri Lanka, three defeats to South Africa, Pakistan and Australia seemed to have dashed their tournament hopes, but two successive wins over the Netherlands and, more impressively, England have injected new impetus into a team in dire need of a boost.
There won't be many secrets between the two teams as they competed against each other in six ODIs last year. Sri Lanka have won four of those matches, although the last one - a thriller at the Asia Cup in September - will leave a bad impression on Afghanistan and will serve as extra motivation if needed.
