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Bangladesh win T20 series against Afghanistan for first time

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Opener Liton Das top-scored with 35 as Bangladesh defeated Afghanistan by six wickets in the second Twenty20 international to take the two-match series 2-0 on Sunday.

Liton laid the foundation for the win with a 67-run opening stand with Afif Hossain (24) as Bangladesh raced to 119 for four in 16.1 overs after Taskin Ahmed’s 3-33 helped the side restrict Afghanistan to 116 for seven in a rain-reduced 17 overs, AFP reported.

Bangladesh won the opening match of the series by two wickets on Friday, and Sunday’s follow-up – both of them in the northeastern city of Sylhet – earned them their third consecutive T20 series win, and their first against Afghanistan in three attempts.

They defeated world champions England 3-0 and Scotland 2-1 earlier this year.

Offspinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman gave Afghanistan a lifeline to save the series by removing Liton and Afif in the space of three balls after their solid stand before Azmatullah Omarzai bowled Najmul Hossain for four.

But skipper Shakib Al Hasan and young Towhid Hridoy forged a 31-run stand for the fourth wicket to prevent further collapse.

“We lost couple of wickets, but given the start we had, we were always ahead,” Shakib said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

“Given the ground conditions, I knew their spinners would have it tough.”

NO EXCUSES

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan refused to make any excuses.

“Weather is not an excuse for a team. T20 should be decided on skills and we were not good enough there, especially in batting,” he said.

Omarzai dismissed Towhid for 19 before finishing with 2-17 but Shakib, with his unbeaten 18, took Bangladesh home.

Shakib also played a hand with the ball to claim 2-15, and Mustafizur Rahman claimed 2-30 as Bangladesh, electing to bowl first, made Afghanistan struggle.

Rain halted play for one-and-a-half hours after just seven overs, prompting the match officials to reduce the contest to 17 overs per side.

Afghanistan were already struggling, losing both openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (eight) and Hazratullah Zazai (four) to Taskin with 16 runs on the board.

Mustafizur removed Mohammad Nabi for 16 after play resumed, and in the next over Shakib dismissed both Ibrahim Zadran (22) and Najibullah Zadran, reducing Afghanistan to 67 for five.

But Omarzai and Karim Janat put on 42 runs for the sixth wicket to revive the innings.

Mustafizur ended Omarzai’s 21-ball knock of 25 forcing him to give Shamim Hossain a catch at deep third man.

Janat was out to Taskin in the final over for 22.

Bangladesh won the one-off test match by a record 546 runs while Afghanistan won the three-match one-day international series 2-1.

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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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