Angelo Mathews warns Sri Lanka of Afghanistan threat

Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews has warned that Afghanistan can no longer be considered whipping boys as the two nations head into their World Twenty20 meeting at Eden Gardens on Thursday.

Afghanistan reached the Super 10 phase for the first time by cruising through the opening group stage, qualifying with a perfect record having seen off Scotland, Hong Kong and Zimbabwe.

Although they will be outsiders to progress from Group 1 - which also includes South Africa, West Indies and England - Mathews is taking nothing for granted.

"They are very tough. The last two times that we played it was two close games. They have fought really hard against us and we had to fight to beat them. We can't really call Afghanistan minnows," said Mathews, who may have to stand in as captain should Lasith Malinga fail to recover from a bone bruise to his knee.

Sri Lanka failed to fire at the recent Asia Cup in Bangladesh, winning just one of their four matches. Although Afghanistan failed to qualify for the final stages of that competition, captain Asghar Stanikzai says fans back home are firmly behind the team.

"There is lot of craze in Afghanistan. The people love this game. Back home they are very excited. They are following us very closely. It is the number one game in the country," he said.

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MATHEWS BACKING MAKESHIFT OPENING PAIR

Sri Lanka only recently promoted Dinesh Chandimal to open the batting, while partner Lahiru Thirimanne was not in the initial World T20 squad. "Chandimal, we saw in the last match and all through the Asia Cup - he has been batting really well. And Thirimanne has so far batted the best in India - he has batted the best out of the lot," Mathews said. "Those two are very talented players so we bank on them. We trust them. As seniors they will take on the challenge and hopefully they will deliver."

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DEVELOPING AFGHANISTAN FULL OF CONFIDENCE

Afghanistan continue to make strides on the international scene, and Stanikzai believes participation in events such as the World T20 can only aid their progression. "We know how to beat full members at the elite level. We have got that experience. As long as we play more games with full members, we will get that experience and the distance between the associates and full members will definitely go away," he said.

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SRI LANKA LOOKING TO HERATH

With wickets in India expected to be spinner-friendly, Mathews is expecting slow left-armer Rangana Herath to provide a dual treat. "We still want him to be an attacking spinner," Mathews said. "He's our main spinner and is very experienced. We want him to take wickets through the middle. If we need him to contain, he can contain as well, because he has the experience of adapting himself when the occasion requires, on certain wickets. That adaptability is in him."

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OPTA STATS

- Sri Lanka are the only side to progress through to the semi-finals in each of the last four Twenty20??tournaments. - Afghanistan's??Mohammad??Shahzad??has recorded 327??runs across his eight??T20I??innings during 2016; an average of 46.7. -??Sri Lanka??have the best win percentage (67.7 per cent)??of any side in this competition (completed matches only).