Sri Lanka vs. Afghanistan, World T20: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

Sri Lanka and Afghanistan could not be more different. One is a team that’s hit a slump while the other is a team on the rise that continues to surprise and entertain.

Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Date: Thursday, March 17

Start time: 7:30 p.m local time (2 p.m GMT)

Live on: Channel 9 and Fox Sports (Australia), Ariana TV Network (Afghanistan), BTV (Bangladesh), ESPN Star and Star Sports (India), Sky Sport NZ (New Zealand), Sky Sports 2 (United Kingdom), Willow TV (USA and Canada), PTV Sports and Ten Sports (Pakistan), SuperSport (South Africa), OSN Sports (Middle East)

Weather: According to AccuWeather.com, we've got the all-clear for thunderstorms. Things can change quickly this time of the year, though, so don't be too surprised if a rogue storm muscles its way across the city.

Overview

The last time Sri Lanka and Afghanistan met was in the 2015 World Cup. On the scorecard, it said that Sri Lanka won by four wickets and 10 balls remaining, but for those who like to romanticise the rise of associate teams, it felt as if though Afghanistan had won.

Out of all the teams in Afghanistan's group at the World T20, Sri Lanka are probably the side Afghanistan feel they can beat. Sri Lanka's T20 record over the last year is dismal, having two just three of their 13 fixtures.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, have won 16 out of 19 with five wins over Zimbabwe included in that run of form. They have only lost to Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates in the last year.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, are struggling to enter their new era after Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara retired from international cricket. Neither have played T20 cricket for Sri Lanka since they won the last tournament, so it’s not like the team hasn’t had time to try to adjust.

Sri Lanka’s slump has not been helped by changes to the captaincy, with Angelo Mathews taking over the reins from Lasith Malinga, due to his struggle with injury. Add to that the fact that Mathews said he was not “mentally prepared” to lead the side and you have a recipe for a pretty disastrous campaign.

Afghanistan have to believe that Sri Lanka are a team that are there for the taking, while the defending World T20 champs have to just do their best to not become the whipping boys of the tournament.

Key players

Sri Lanka

In what is a pretty grim string of results, Tillakaratne Dilshan has been Sri Lanka's most consistent performer over the last year. He's managed 285 runs at an average of 25.90, including three fifties in 12 fixtures.

He is one of the most experienced players in the side and will have to take on a leadership role to help lift Sri Lanka out of this slump.

Afghanistan

Mohammad Shahzad has scored 624 runs at an average of 34.66 for Afghanistan in the last year. That includes four fifties and, more recently, an unbeaten 118 against Zimbabwe in the United Arab Emirates.

Squads

Sri Lanka

Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milinda Siriwardana, Dasun Shanaka, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dushmantha Chameera, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Thirimanne

Afghanistan

Asghar Stanikzai, Dawlat Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Shafiqullah Shafiq, Amir Hamza, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Sadiq, Mohammad Shahzad, Noor Ali Zadran, Samiullah Shenwari, Shapoor Zadran, Mirwais Ashraf