Sri Lanka beat Nepal by 1-0 goal in the tournament opening match of the seven-nation 11th SAFF championship, SAFF Suzuki Cup, at Trivandrum International Stadium in Kerala, India on Wednesday.After the barren first half, Rifnas Mohammed scored the important goal for Sri Lanka in the stopgap time (95min) in a counter move by a placing shot from the goalmouth melee.Nepal stand-in captain Biraj made a blunder in the danger zone and Mohammed took a chance to place the ball deceiving goalie.On Thursday, Bangladesh will face defending champions Afghanistan at 6:30 pm (local time) in a Group-B match to start their tournament campaign.Seven countries host India, Nepal, Sri Lanka (Group A) holders Afghanistan, the Maldives, Bhutan, Bangladesh (Group B) split into two groups are competing in the 12-day meet.