Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and chose to bat first, on what he felt was a decent batting surface in Pallekele. Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said he would have batted first as well. The ball's tendency to zip around under lights in Pallekele may have influenced Hashmatullah's decision as well.

Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva both find places in the top order.

For Afghanistan, seam-bowling allrounder Gulbadin Naib, legspinning allrounder Rahmat Shah, and fronline seamer Yamin Ahmadzai all come into the XI. The top order is fairly settled, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran opening, with the likes of Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi in the middle order, in addition to captain Hashmatullah.

Afghanistan: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt.), 4 Najibullah Zadran, 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Rahmat Shah, 7 Gulbadin Naib, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 10 Fazalhaq Farooqi, 11 Yamin Ahmadzai

Sri Lanka: 1 Kusal Mendis (wk), 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Dhananjaya de Silva, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Dhanajaya Lakshan, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Kasun Rajitha, 11 Lahiru Kumara