Sri Lanka defeated Bangladesh by 6 wickets as Dhananjaya De Silva played a unbeaten knock of 66 in 42 deliveries to chase down the target of 145 with 9 balls to spare.
Sri Lanka pretty happy to keep this to 144. Afghanistan surely should have got at least 15-20 more for the base set by Gurbaz and Ghani. Gurbaz played some delightful shots, so did Ibrahim. But both got out swinging down the ground to Kumara. Najib struggled to middle the ball for most parts, while Gulbadin and Nabi couldn't give that extra lift towards the end.
Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi won the toss and has opted to bat first in the match 32 of ICC T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka.
As teams in Group 1 of the Super 12s deal with washouts and unexpected results, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have reached the proverbial edge of the cliff. One wrong step and they'll have to pack their bags and return home.
READ: HUGE blow to France as Paul Pogba set to miss FIFA World Cup in Qatar due to injury
Sri Lanka have one win in three games and Afghanistan's two points are from two washouts, and yet there's very little to separate the two sides. They've had recent tussles against each other in the Asia Cup and each side will take confidence from their respective wins in that tournament.
In the one game they've played, Afghanistan were uncharacteristically timid with the bat. The top-order flamboyance went missing and the tentativeness percolated through to all phases of the game for them.
When: Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka, ICC men's T20 World Cup 2022, November 1, 02:00 PM Local time, 09:30 AM IST
Where: The Gabba, Brisbane
Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka probable XI
Afghanistan: Gulbadin Naib, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Usman Ghani, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara