T20 World Cup: SL v Afg Preview: Asians lock horns in a now-or-never clash

Afghanistan and Sri Lanka will take on each other in a must-win Super 12 clash at The Gabba in Brisbane on Tuesday.

The equation is pretty simple for Afghanistan and Sri Lanka at the moment. They are occupying the bottom two spots in Group 1 with just two points to their names and, with both Australia and New Zealand having made their way to five points already, they will need to win both of their remaining encounters to stay alive in the semi-final race.

But only one team can emerge victorious from this contest, which means the losing team will be out of the final four race completely. Moreover, with rain threat looming large, there's a chance of both teams getting eliminated from contention if the match is a washout.

Two of Afghanistan's three matches so far have already been hit by rain. After their loss to England, where they fought very hard and competed really well, both of their games against New Zealand and Ireland were called off as rain played spoilsport. Now there is a risk of their third game encountering the same fate as well.

Mohammad Nabi's men were seen in really good form in the warm-up matches. Even though their batting unit failed in their tournament opener against England, their bowlers delivered a fighting performance and showed that they are a real force to be reckoned with. They will be hoping for another opportunity to show that.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have been fortunate to play three full games. But they haven't been able to make the most of it. They started their Super 12 campaign on a bright note with a massive nine-wicket win over Ireland but have suffered crushing losses to Australia and New Zealand in the last two matches.

While it was their bowling that failed in the match against Australia, it was their batting that couldn't live up to the expectations against the Kiwis. But they need consistency in both departments going into this contest against Afghanistan. If rain shows mercy and they get some overs in to get a result, Sri Lanka will need their star spinners, Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga, and their top order to perform at the peak of their potential.

Possible XIs
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Usman Ghani, Najibullah Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha

Key Players
Mohammad Nabi: The Afghanistan skipper was seen in excellent batting form in the warm-up games as he scored 41* and 51* against Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively. He has been economical with the ball as well, registering figures of 1/11 in the warm-up game against Bangladesh and 1/17 in their T20 World Cup opener against England. He will have another important role to play for his team in this contest.

Wanindu Hasaranga: The wrist-spinner plays a crucial role with the ball for Sri Lanka. Hasaranga gives them control in the middle-overs and he will be looking to do the same in this game as well. Hasaranga is also a handy batter and is tasked with scoring useful runs for his team lower down the order. He has claimed 81 wickets in 50 T20Is for Sri Lanka, at 14.93 runs a piece, and has also amassed 464 runs, including one fifty.