Live Blog: SL look to avoid heavy defeat

It's drinks, and at the halfway point Sri Lanka have almost secured qualification; at 82 for 2 they're just 19 runs away from ensuring their net run rate is better than that of Bangladesh's regardless of result. But for Afghanistan, it will be concerning that Sri Lanka have got so many already. This game is shaping up to go down to the wire.

Though it might have been better for Afghanistan had Mujeeb not misjudged an aerial slog sweep from Kusal Perera at deep square leg on the stroke of drinks. The spinner had come in from the boundary to take it, before realising that this was sailing over. Fine margins.

Kusal Mendis has struck an unbeaten 32 from 18 inside the powerplay, but Afghanistan will nevertheless be pleased by their efforts during the period.

Nissanka was removed early, while Kamil Mishara - a slow starter as seen from his small T20I sample size - was dismissed by Mohammed Nabi (can't keep this man out of the game) after he chipped one straight to extra cover.

The game is finely poised, but with the spinners set to come into the game through the middle overs, much of Sri Lanka's fortunes will depend on Mendis - arguably Sri Lanka's best player of spin - staying in the middle for as long as possible.

The question at the start of the game had surrounded Sri Lanka's heavy reliance on their opening pair, particularly Pathum Nissanka, and now Sri Lanka will have to show they can chase without his input.

Kusal Mendis had taken the early initiative, striking three boundaries inside the first two overs. This would presumably have taken the scoring burden off Nissanka, but his dismissal was not borne out hubris - rather it was a nonchalant pull, flat and straight to short fine leg. Either side of the man and Nissanka would have been up and running.

So as the chase gets underway there are a couple of equations at play. Sri Lanka will no doubt want to win this game outright, but they will have one eye on another figure - 101. That's what they need to get to to ensure qualification for the next round.

If they're bowled out for less than that, then Bangladesh will sneak through on net run rate ahead of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka dominated proceedings for 18 out of 20 overs, but in those two overs Afghanistan and Mohammed Nabi grabbed the momentum and, indeed, the upperhand as Afghanistan tore into Sri Lanka - primarily Dunith Wellalage - to score a whopping 49 runs off the final two overs to end on 169 for 8.

Nabi ended on an incredible 60 off 22, run out off the final delivery of the innings, as he saved his best for last against Wellalage - who had earlier dropped Nabi when he was on six.

For context, Wellalage, a left-arm spinner, was left to bowl the final over after Maheesh Theekshana had been left out of the XI, and the seamers had been bowled out earlier in the innings. That gamble seemed to have paid off for large parts of this innings, as Nuwan Thushara picked up figures of 4 for 18, while Chameera was unlucky to go for 50 in his four.

Dasun Shanaka, the nominal fifth bowler, had gone for 29 but picked up a wicket, while Hasaranga had gone wicketless but was miserly giving away just 18. But none of that accounted for leaving Wellalage against Nabi, a specialist spin hitter, at the last.

Wellage attempted to bowl quick and flat, but he was no match as ball after ball was sent into the stands - over long-off and cow corner, time and time and time and time and time again. It was a brutal display of hitting, and one that a player as young as Wellalage will do well to try and put out of his mind sooner rather than later.

But for Afghanistan, it was just what they needed in a must-win game.

Dushmantha Chameera has been finding the yorkers at the death all tournament, and against Afghanistan it was no different. Against Mohammed Nabi in the penultimate over, Chameera landed three yorkers off his first four deliveries, but yet he went for 14 runs in those balls, including three consecutive boundaries - one squeezed behind point, one picked up in front of square leg, and one a french cut to fine leg.

It meant 17 runs coming off the over in the end - the most expensive of the innings up until then.

Then to rub salt in the wounds, Nabi took on Wellalage - who was forced to bowl the final over after the strike bowlers had been used up earlier. This was the gamble Sri Lanka took in leaving out Theekshana, and Nabi ensured they were made to pay for it.

Nabi launched Wellalage's first three deliveries for six, before the fourth, a no-ball was bowled wide - the subsequent free hit though went for six. The fifth ball, also a six. The sixth legal delivery? Not a six, but runout coming back for a second. A small consolation as all of Sri Lanka's hard work was seemingly undone in the blink of an eye.

Rashid Khan and Mohammed Nabi had put on 35 off 30 deliveries - incidentally Afghanistan's best partnership of the innings - and were gearing up for a late death overs charged.

Rashid had earlier taken Dasun Shanaka for a pair of boundaries, including a sumptuous no-look six into the onside, while Nabi had been dropped in the deep by Dunith Wellalage.

On a wicket where even 140 might be defendable, given Afghanistan's considerable bowling prowess, Sri Lanka would have been wary of this stand getting away from them, especially as Thushara's extra over in the powerplay meant one over at the death needed to be spin.

Thushara though ensured that Sri Lanka's feat would be a touch easier, bowler Rashid expertly with a slower ball yorker. It was a fourth wicket in as many overs as Thushara ended his spell with figures of 4 for 18.

Sri Lanka's fielding can go missing on some days, but today it's been on the money - particularly their catching. Kusal Perera's sensational bit of work on the third man boundary was outstanding but Dushmantha Chameera might just have out done him.

Stationed on the long-on boundary, Ibrahim Zadran might have been about 95% sure this was heading for six. It was flat and hard, and might have cleared anyone in this Lankan side apart from the lanky Chameera, who leapt up and grabbed this with two hands.

Fortunately for the Lankan seamer, he was a couple of meters from the ropes, as the momentum of the ball took him flying to stop just inches from the ropes. What's more it was the wicket of Ibrahim Zadran, who was set on 24 off 27.

In between the two catches, Shanaka had Azmatullah Omarzai chopping on, meaning Sri Lanka have picked up three wickets in three overs since the drinks break.

Observers for many years became familiar with Kusal Perera the keeper. But Kusal Perera the outfielder has left much to be desired, particularly in the context of his hit and miss form with the bat. But any question marks over his fielding were, at least briefly, shelved as he pulled off a masterful catch on the deep third boundary (his being stationed there tells you all you need about how his fielding his viewed) in the 11th over.

Leaping off his feet after Darwish Rasooli had uppercut/ramped a quick and short one from Dushmantha Chameera, the momentum from the ball was seemingly taking Perera with it over the boundary line. But the diminutive former keeper managed to just about balance himself on one foot inches from the ropes, before popping the ball up, safely exiting and entering the field of play, and completing the catch.

Earlier, he had taken another sharp take at fly slip to remove Gurbaz.

Sri Lanka's three wickets in the powerplay has allowed them to sneak in some miserly overs since. At drinks Afghanistan have crawled along to 63 for 3, at a run rate just a touch above run-a-ball.

Sri Lanka will be quite pleased with this, particularly as it has allowed Dasun Shanaka - nominally Sri Lanka's fifth bowler - to sneak in two overs for just eight runs. While boundaries have understandably been hard to come by, Afghanistan will be more upset by their accumulation of dot deliveries.

For a seamer that bowls primarily inside the powerplay, a career economy rate of 7.65 is fairly impressive. And since becoming a mainstay in this Sri Lankan side, Thushara has barely gone a game without picking up a wicket - in fact, in 25 matches since the start of 2024, he's picked up at least in wicket in 20 of them.

Against Afghanistan, against two batters who were threatening a strong powerplay, Thushara almost single-handedly turned the tide. After a double wicket second over in which picked up both Gurbaz and Janat, Thushara was given a third which saw him remove Sediqullah Atal with a searing inswinger - a delivery that is fast becoming the slinger's staple to left-handers.

Thushara's three powerplay overs in the end yielded three wickets for just 12 runs. It meant Afghanistan went from 26 for no loss to 40 for 3.

Sri Lanka have a plan A for the powerplay - Thushara and Chameera - but without Theekshana in the XI, there really isn't a plan B. So it would have been worrying for Charith Asalanka when his two lead seamers went for 26 runs in the first two overs of the innings.

Fortunately for Sri Lanka, Thushara's plan A is a pretty good one. He got Gurbaz to swing way too early on a slower one, as the proceeding thick edge was caught well by a deep fly slip. And then he bookended the over with another saucy outswinger, this time to Karim Janat, who stayed back to a length ball and defended down the wrong line as this clattered into off stump.

Is Maheesh Theekshana underrated? Perhaps. He bowls through all phases, be it in the powerplay, through the middle or at the death. And he does so with scarcely a drop in output. Having Theekshana in your side is a safety net of sorts, but it also means your side is generally a batter short (while his fielding hasn't lit the world alight either).

In that sense, bringing in Wellalage makes some sense. He improves your batting as well as your fielding, but does he offer the same control Theekshana does? Well, Sri Lanka are banking on it. You'd hope a time comes in the future where both Theekshana and Wellalage could fit into the same side - perhaps in an aggressive move to play one less batter - but that you suspect is marginally too adventurous for this current iteration of Sri Lanka.

Charith Asalanka touched on Sri Lanka's middle order troubles during the toss, but he also mentioned how well the openers have been doing as of late. A major component of that has been Pathum Nissanka. Since the start of his career, he has had to put his game together brick by brick, improving at every step, and now as Fidel points out in great detail, Nissanka is raising his bar one notch at a time.

Afghanistan have won the toss and elected to bat first in a must-win game for them in Abu Dhabi.

Rashid Khan said he was keen to get runs on the board in what looks to be a good batting track. Charith Asalanka said he would have batted first as well, and made it a point to emphasise the need to improve their middle order batting.

In terms of team news, there are two changes for Afghanistan with Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Darwish Rasooli coming in for AM Ghazanfar and Gulbadin Naib. Sri Lanka have brought in Dunith Wellalage for Maheesh Theekshana, presumably influenced by Afghanistan's struggles with left-arm spin in their last game against Bangladesh.

The pitch might have something for the seamers early on, but it also might be a little two-paced. "Make sure you're busy against spin," advised Ravi Shastri during the pitch report.

Afghanistan XI: Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan (capt), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Sri Lanka XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamil Mishara, Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka (capt), Dasun Shanaka, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara

The big battle today will be how Sri Lanka's batters navigate the varied threats posed by Afghanistan's spinners. Rashid Khan is a known threat, AM Ghazanfar an unknown one, and in Noor Ahmad Afghanistan have the top T20 wicket-taker since the start of 2024. And that's before we even get to the all-round exploits of someone like Mohammed Nabi.

Sri Lanka meanwhile have fared far better against pace than spin in recent times. Even against Hong Kong, spin caused them issues through the middle overs, while even pace-off deliveries proved tough to get away. Safe to say, how Sri Lanka handle the Afghan spinners will be pivotal.