Sport
Bangladesh win T20 series against Afghanistan for first time
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.
Sport
Afghanistan clinches ODI series victory against Zimbabwe
Afghanistan's national cricket team triumphed over Zimbabwe by 8 wickets in the third and final One-Day International (ODI) to claim the series victory.
In a dominant bowling display, Afghanistan dismissed Zimbabwe for just 127 runs in 30.1 overs. The Afghan batsmen then chased down the target comfortably in 26.5 overs, losing only 2 wickets along the way.
The standout performer of the match was Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, who took a remarkable 5 wickets, while Rashid Khan supported with 3 wickets. Azmatullah Omarzai and Farid Ahmad each claimed 1 wicket.
The first match of the series was abandoned due to rain, but Afghanistan bounced back strongly in the second match, securing a commanding 232-run victory.
This series win follows Afghanistan's earlier success in the T20I series against Zimbabwe, further cementing their dominance in international cricket.
Sport
Bangla Tigers lift Lanka T10 Super League title
Player of the match and player of the series was Titan’s skipper Dasun Shanaka.
Hambantota Bangla Tigers beat favorites Jaffna Titans by 26 runs in Thursday’s Lanka T10 Super League final at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy.
The Tigers produced a fine all-round performance to beat the Titans, who had won all their matches in the lead up to the final.
Player of the match and player of the series was Titan’s skipper Dasun Shanaka.
Hambantota Bangla Tigers, put into bat first, posted 133 for seven from their allotted 10 overs through some useful contributions from their top order batsmen.
The openers Mohammad Shahzad and Kusal Perera added 35 runs from 2.4 overs before they suffered a middle order collapse and reached 59 for three at the halfway stage of the innings.
However, skipper Dasun Shanaka and Shevon Daniel revived the innings with a fourth-wicket partnership of 44 runs in three overs.
Shanaka made 21 with two sixes and two boundaries while Daniel struck 26 with one six and three boundaries before Kennar Lewis and Dhananjaya Lakshan added the finishing touches.
Chasing 133 runs for victory, Jaffna Titans lost wickets at regular intervals and they eventually finished at 107 for six despite a fighting unbeaten half century from middle order batsman Tom Abell.
Richard Gleeson wrecked the Hambantota Bangla Tigers’ innings with excellent figures of three wickets for 21 while Shanaka captured two wickets for four runs.
Sport
Afghanistan crush Zimbabwe by 232 runs in second ODI
Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe by 232 runs in the second ODI on Thursday to secure a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Sent to bat first by Zimbabwe who won the toss, Afghanistan posted 286-6 in Harare.
Sediqullah Atal scored 104, his first hundred in an international match. Abdul Malik followed with 84.
In reply, Zimbabwe scored 54 runs before being bowled out in the 17.5 overs.
Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar and Naweed Zadran took three wickets each. Fazlullah Farooqi picked up two wickets and Azmatullah Omarzai one.
This was the second match of the ODI series between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. The first was abandoned due to rain.
The third and final game of the series will be played on Saturday.
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