Can buoyant Lankans get their revenge?

Tuning in to watch the Asia Cup game today would only deepen the woes of Bangladeshi cricketers and fans as Sri Lanka and Afghanistan – the two sides that beat and knocked the Tigers out of the continental tournament from the group stage – face each other in a Super 4 clash in Sharjah.

If Afghanistan's seven-wicket win over Bangladesh was a hard pill to swallow, the agonising two-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in a high-voltage do-or-die contest on Thursday only added to a rather unfortunate list of heartbreaks for Bangladesh in the Asia Cup.

Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka and Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi are scheduled to walk out to the ground for the toss at 7:30pm tonight, the time by which the members of the Bangladesh's Asia Cup contingent are expected to be at their homes in the country.

However, Shanaka and Nabi will only have their eyes set on getting a win in order to move a step closer to the all-important final, scheduled for September 11 in Dubai.

The Lankans will also be looking to avenge their humiliating defeat at the hands of Nabi's troops in the opener of the Asia Cup just a mere week ago. In that game in Dubai, the likes of Kusal Mendis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Wanindu Hasaranga could not even pose any sorts of threat against a confident and aggressive Afghan attack.

Sri Lanka were bundled out for a meagre 105, a total that Afghanistan overcame with 59 balls to spare.

While Afghanistan remain favourites to win the tie once again, given the number of T20 specialists in their side, Sri Lanka would want to carry their fighting momentum from their game against Bangladesh in this game as well.