Sport
Afghanistan cricket team wins silver at Asian Games

India were crowned Asian Games men’s cricket champions on their first attempt and without needing to bat Saturday in an anti-climatic finish, consigning Afghanistan to a third consecutive silver.
India were declared winners of the final under an Asian Games-specific rule where the higher-ranked team takes the honors if the match cannot be finished, in this case due to rain, AFP reported.
Afghanistan made 112-5 under the floodlights in Hangzhou before the wet weather arrived after 18.2 overs.
With conditions not improving, the final was abandoned.
Despite the damp ending it completed a golden double for India after they beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs to be crowned women’s champions last week.
Twenty20 cricket has been played at the Asian Games twice before, at Guangzhou 2010 and Incheon 2014, with Bangladesh and then Sri Lanka crowned men’s winners.
Afghanistan were runners-up both times, but India did not take part.
Because they were among the higher-ranked teams, they both entered the tournament at the quarter-final stage in Hangzhou.
While India cruised through their knockout games, against Nepal and Bangladesh, the Afghans had to scrap hard to beat holders Sri Lanka and then Pakistan.
Afghanistan again had to knuckle down after India won the toss and chose to field, with a gritty unbeaten 49 from Shahidullah and captain Gulbadin Naib’s 27 not out ensuring they passed 100.
They faced a fiery introduction with pacemen Shivam Dube and Arshdeep Singh removing openers Zubaid Akbari and Mohammad Shahzad inside the first three overs.
The needless run-out of Noor Ali Zadran, going for a tight second run in the next over, compounded their problems after Ravi Bishnoi’s accurate throw from the ropes.
Back-to-back boundaries from Afsar Zazai finally got the scoreboard moving as he and Shahidullah put on 37 for the next wicket.
Bishnoi’s spin broke the partnership with Zazai bowled for 15, before Shahidullah and Naib shared a 60-run stand, before rain halted play.
In the bronze medal match, Bangladesh stunned Pakistan when Rakibul Hasan smashed a boundary off the final ball to book a six-wicket win.
Pakistan managed only 48-1 off five overs before rain halted play, with Bangladesh set a revised target of 65 under the DLS (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) method.
They reached it with four wickets down in dramatic fashion, with Hasan’s heroics sparking wild scenes from the Bangladesh team.
Sport
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.

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

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.
Sport
Afghanistan qualify for U19 Cricket World Cup 2026

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.
-
Sport5 days ago
Sri Lanka A defeats Afghanistan A by 4 wickets in Abu Dhabi
-
Latest News4 days ago
AWCC activates new site in Nangarhar’s Kuz Kunar district
-
Latest News4 days ago
Tarig Ali Bakheet and Japan’s Deputy Foreign Minister discuss Afghanistan’s situation
-
Business4 days ago
Pakistan’s deputy PM discusses Trans-Afghan Railway Line project with Uzbek FM
-
Climate Change5 days ago
Powerful earthquake of 6.2 magnitude shakes Istanbul
-
Latest News5 days ago
Special meeting will be held to launch Afghanistan–Russia joint commission, says Kabulov
-
Latest News3 days ago
Afghanistan’s medicine output reaches 900 types: Pharma Union
-
Latest News4 days ago
Afghan delegation to participate in Iran’s international expo