Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi won the toss and chose to bat against Sri Lanka in their Twenty20 World Cup clash at the Gabba in Brisbane on Tuesday.

Both teams have a faint chance of reaching the semi-finals but would need to win their next two games and hope other results go in their favour.

Heavy overnight and morning rain threatened the start of the match, but the rain cleared and play was expected to start as scheduled.

The steamy conditions should encourage the pacemen, particularly after the amount of swing Mitchell Starc got in Australia’s win over Ireland at the same ground on Monday.

Afghanistan, whose last two matches were abandoned because of rain, made one change from the side that lost to England on October 22, bringing in all-rounder Gulbadin Naib for Hazratullah Zazai, who was ruled out with an abdominal strain.

Sri Lanka also made one change, with Chamika Karunaratne making way for fellow paceman Pramod Madushan.

Teams:

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

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (capt), Wanindu Hasaranga, Pramod Madushan, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara

AFP