HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka (AP) — Afghanistan recalled star legspinner Rashid Khan and opted to bat first in the series-deciding third limited-overs international against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.
Rashid, who missed the first two games because of a back injury, returned at the expense of Noor Ahamd. Allrounder Gulbadin Naib also made a comeback to the lineup in place of Azmatullah Omarzai.
Sri Lanka cut Kasun Rajitha in favor of fast bowler Lahiru Kumara, who has recovered from a hamstring strain.
Afghanistan won the series-opening game by six wickets and Sri Lanka responded with a 132-run win in Game 2.
This is Sri Lanka’s last game before the World Cup qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe. Afghanistan has already secured a spot at the World Cup to be held in India starting in October.
___
Lineups:
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (captain), Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara.
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Mohammad Nabi, , Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Farid Ahmad.
___
More AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
