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Excitement grows over possible India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup final

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The prospect of a mouth-watering final between India and Pakistan at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has everyone excited.

India and Pakistan successfully navigated different paths to the final four on a highly-fluctuating final day of Super 12 action on Sunday and now could be on track to meet in the T20 World Cup final if they each win their difficult semi-final match-ups.

Rohit Sharma’s side takes on England in Adelaide on Thursday in a battle between the top two teams on the T20I Team Rankings, while Pakistan will have to conquer in-form New Zealand at the SCG on Wednesday if they are to reach the title decider.

Pakistan’s chances of even reaching the semi-finals looked forlorn at the start of the day on Sunday, but the Netherlands’ upset victory over South Africa provided Babar Azam’s side the opportunity to clinch an unlikely semi-final berth.

A hard-fought five-wicket victory over Bangladesh helped Pakistan clinch the last spot in the semis and Watson believes the chances of a rematch of their meeting at the MCG at the start of the tournament and a dream final between the two biggest rivals in cricket now looms as a strong possibility.

“Everyone would love to see Pakistan and India in the final,” an excited Watson said at the SCG on Monday.

“I unfortunately missed that first (Super 12) game at the MCG, as I commentated the game previously between Australia and New Zealand.

“But from all reports, all the people that went along to that game said it was something very special and the game was obviously an amazing game to watch on TV as well.

“They played in the T20 World Cup final in 2007 and everyone would love to see it again.”

Afghan cricket fans can tune in to all the excitement as matches are being broadcast live on Ariana Television.

For the broadcast schedule CLICK HERE

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Patel and Mendis help Sunrisers beat Kings in Dhoni’s 400th T20

Fast bowler Harshal Patel grabbed four wickets and Kamindu Mendis showed his allround skill as Sunrisers Hyderabad upstaged Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in Chennai on Friday.

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Patel grabbed 4-28 and was ably assisted by skipper Pat Cummins and Jaydev Unadkat — both finishing with identical figures of 2-21 — to dismiss the home team for a below-par 154 in 19.5 overs.

South African youngster Dewald Brevis was the top scorer for the Kings with a blistering 25-ball 42, cracking four sixes and a boundary on his debut for the franchise.

Skipper M.S. Dhoni failed to make his 400th T20 a memorable occasion, managing just six runs and coming out on the losing side.

Sunrisers achieved the target in 18.4 overs for the loss of five wickets with Ishan Kishan leading the way with a solid 34-ball 44 with five boundaries and a six.

Mendis struck an unbeaten 32 off 22 balls, adding 49 in an unbroken sixth wicket stand with Nitish Kumar Reddy who finished with a 13-ball 19 not out.

The victory lifted Sunrisers to eighth on the 10-team table topped by Gujrat Titans with 12 points in eight matches while five-time champions Kings are at the bottom with four points in nine.

Patel, declared man-of-the-match, attributed discipline as the key for his fine bowling.

“I figured out pretty early that hitting it on a good length around the stumps was important because it was hard to hit with the horizontal bat,” said Patel.

Dhoni blamed losing a cluster of wickets for the poor batting show.

“I think we kept losing wickets and another thing is in the first innings the wicket was slightly better,” said Dhoni. “A total of 157 wasn’t a justifiable score.”

Earlier, Chennai Super Kings were rocked by Sunrisers’s pacer Patel who ripped through the middle and lower-order batting.

The home team started on a wrong note when opener Shaik Rasheed was caught in the slip off the very first delivery of the match by fast bowler Mohammad Shami.

Seventee-year-old Ayush Mhatre was impressive in his 19-ball 30, which was studded with six boundaries, while Ravindra Jadeja managed 21 with a six and a boundary.

Jadeja’s dismissal brought Dhoni to the crease as the crowd roared to welcome their hero in his 400th T20 match but Dhoni’s stay lasted for just ten balls.

It was Brevis who assured Kings get past 150 with some lusty hitting.

Deepak Hooda also chipped in with a 21-ball 22 with a six and a boundary.

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Sri Lanka A defeats Afghanistan A by 4 wickets in Abu Dhabi

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Afghanistan A was defeated by Sri Lanka A with a margin of four wickets in the ongoing 50-over tri-nation cricket series.

The match was held on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Afghanistan had previously lost one match against Ireland and another against Sri Lanka in this series.

Batting first, the Afghan team set a target of 229 runs after losing eight wickets.

In response, Sri Lanka A chased down the target, losing six wickets.

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Afghanistan qualify for U19 Cricket World Cup 2026

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Afghanistan’s U19 cricket team has officially qualified for the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2026, following the final day washout in the Asia Qualifiers.

After securing three big wins in their first three games, today’s match against Nepal U19s was washed out. Thanks to their superior Net Run Rate, Afghanistan U19s topped the table and book their berth in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2026, which will take place early next year in Namibia and Zimbabwe.

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