Sri Lanka opt to bat; Afghanistan bring in Qais Ahmad

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat in the second ODI against Afghanistan at Pallekele.

Sri Lankan skipper Kusal Mendis said that with the pitch looking great for batting once again, he was hoping his side to put up another good performance. The hosts made just one change with Asitha Fernando coming in for the injured Dushmantha Chameera.

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said that they too would have batted first, but he was confident of a better showing from his bowlers. Qais Ahmad came in place of Fareed Ahmad, as Afghanistan opted to go in with an extra spinner.

In terms of the conditions, it was another warm and sunny day in Pallekele. The pitch was similar to what was offered up in the first game, with the grass a little greener, if anything. "There are also some cracks, which means the pitch will stay good but maybe not as high scoring [as the first ODI]. Maybe 300-320 is the par score," Russell Arnold said at the pitch report.

Sri Lanka: 1 Avishka Fernando, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Kusal Mendis (capt, wk), 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Janith Liyanage, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Maheesh Theekshana, 9 Asitha Fernando, 10 Pramod Madushan, 11 Dilshan Madushanka

Afghanistan: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 5 Ikram Alikhil, 6 Azmatullah Omarzai, 7 Gulbadin Naib, 8 Mohammad Nabi, 9 Qais Ahmad, 10 Fazalhaq Farooqi, 11 Fareed Ahmad