Samiullah Shenwari
Samiullah Shenwari [Reuters] [Reuters]

Afghanistan take on Nepal in their last group stage fixture of the ongoing T20 World Cup at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on Thursday, wary that they are not in control of their progression to the next round.

Where to Watch Live

The match is set to begin at 9:30am GMT. Live coverage is on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports 2 HD. Follow live text updates of the game on ESPNCricinfo.

Overview

Following their defeat against Bangladesh in the first game, Afghanistan gave themselves a chance of progressing into the next round after defeating by seven wickets Hong Kong on Tuesday.

Hong Kong had set a target of 154 runs for the Afghans to chase and they achieved the task with 12 deliveries remaining. In the opening innings, Afghanistan bowlers went straight into the attack with Shapoor Zadran dismissing Irfan Ahmed (0) in the first ball.

However, the Jamie Atkinson side responded well as the skipper contributed 31 runs as his batsmen managed to score a total of 153 runs, losing eight wickets by the conclusion of their innings.

Shapoor, Mohammad Nabi and Hamza Hotak all added two wickets each to their names while Dawlat Zadran took one. Najeeb Tarakai was also responsible for helping his team dismiss Munir Dar (3) via a run out.

Afghanistan got off to a slow start and lost Tarakai (7) with just 14 runs on the board as Mohammad Shahzad stood strong. Asghar Stanikzai (13) was the next to join the opener once again in the pavilion in the 11<sup>th over.

Shahzad then completed his half-century and scored 68 runs before being dismissed by Haseeb Amjad's delivery. But his partner on the other end Shafiqullah (51) maintained the momentum alongside skipper Nabi (6) to complete the chase by the end of 18<sup>th over.

Meanwhile, Nepal started the tournament strongly registering a win against fellow associates Hong Kong in the opening day but failed to post a challenge to the hosts on Tuesday.

They could only manage 126 runs in 20 overs and Bangladesh easily surpassed their total in the 16<sup>th over. Skipper Paras Khadka and Sharad Vesawkar were their highest run getters with 41 and 40 runs respectively.

Mushfiqur Rahim's opening batsmen posted a partnership of 63 runs before Tamim Iqbal (30) was dismissed and then they lost Anamul Haque (42) with 79 runs on the board. Sabbir Rahman (21) and Shakib Al Hasan (37) ensure the hosts go one step closer to achieving progress to the next round.

Afghanistan and Nepal are level in the Group A with two points each and sit third and second r

espectively due to the latter's superior Net Run-Rate. Irrespective of whichever team wins this game, both teams do not stand a chance of progression unless Hong Kong pulls off a miracle by defeating Bangladesh who lead the table with four points to their account.

Team News

Afghanistan

Probable Lineup: Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Najeeb Tarakai, Karim Sadiq, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi (c), Najibullah Zadran, Shafiqullah, Samiullah Shenwari, Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Hamza Hotak

Nepal

Probable Lineup: Subash Khakurel (wk), Sagar Pun, Gyanendra Malla, Paras Khadka (c), Basant Regmi, Naresh Budayair, Binod Bhandari, Sompal Kami, Jitendra Mukhiya, Sharad Vesawkar, Shakti Gauchan

Afghanistan