Afghanistan in must-win territory to seal Super Four spot

Given how their campaign turned out in the T20 World Cup last year, Afghanistan were certainly one of the favourites to progress to the Super Four. However, heading into their final group game, they are now in must-win territory after the setback against Bangladesh. Their batting lineup has come under the scanner now in the tournament even though the sample size is just two games.

Sediqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai were the only big contributors in their big win over Hong Kong. The rest didn't fire against Bangladesh as well and with Atal getting dismissed for a golden duck, the task only got tougher. Omarzai sizzled, though, striking some monstrous sixes but Afghanistan clearly need more players to stand up in that middle order. And this needs to happen against a side that's been largely impressive in the tournament so far.

Sri Lanka have largely kept the runs down and with the bat, they have looked good except for that wobble towards the end of the chase against Hong Kong. While in an ideal world they wouldn't have wanted their qualification to depend on this result, a three-way tie on points will be in store if they slip up. In such a scenario, Afghanistan will certainly go through and Sri Lanka's progress will depend on the margin of the loss.

When: Thursday, September 18 at 6:30 PM local time (8 PM IST)

Where: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

What to expect: Teams batting first have won three out of the five games so far. And in general, Afghanistan do prefer batting first and setting a target. In the only game Sri Lanka have played here this campaign, they chased down 140 against Bangladesh inside 15 overs.

Sri Lanka did leave out Matheesha Pathirana after his poor outing against Bangladesh and they will likely stick with that combination given how miserly Maheesh Theekshana was.

Probable XI:

• Pathum Nissanka
• Kusal Mendis(w)
• Kamil Mishara
• Kusal Perera
• Charith Asalanka(c)
• Kamindu Mendis
• Dasun Shanaka
• Wanindu Hasaranga
• Maheesh Theekshana
• Dushmantha Chameera
• Nuwan Thushara

Probable XI:

• Sediqullah Atal
• Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w)
• Ibrahim Zadran
• Mohammad Nabi
• Gulbadin Naib
• Azmatullah Omarzai
• Karim Janat
• Rashid Khan(c)
• Noor Ahmad
• AM Ghazanfar
• Fazalhaq Farooqi

"We are very optimistic (against Sri Lanka). We have played two games here and if we win on Thursday, we go on top of the group. There's plenty to play for. There is disappointment but we have to dust ourselves off. There are ups and downs. You have to make sure you have to ride those waves. We have to bounce back on Thursday. If we can win well, it gives us a lot of confidence. There's plenty to play for. We should have played better, but we have to pull our socks up for Thursday" – Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan head coach.