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India edge Pakistan in low-scoring nailbiter at T20 World Cup

India beat Pakistan by six runs in a low-scoring but tense T20 World Cup Group A encounter on Sunday at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium where more than 34,000 fans were in attendance at the temporary arena despite the early rain.

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India beat Pakistan by six runs in a low-scoring but tense T20 World Cup Group A encounter on Sunday at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium where more than 34,000 fans were in attendance at the temporary arena despite the early rain.

The result moved India to the top of Group A with two wins from their opening two matches while Pakistan have zero points from two defeats following their upset by the hosts, the United States.

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first on a two-paced pitch where rain interruptions made things difficult for India who struggled to get going and were dismissed for 119.

Mohammad Rizwan laid the platform for the chase with a patient knock of 31 but Pakistan fell short after losing wickets at regular intervals

In response, Mohammad Rizwan laid the platform for the chase with a patient knock of 31 but Pakistan fell short after losing wickets at regular intervals while India's Jasprit Bumrah (3-14) made crucial breakthroughs and bowled 15 dot balls.

"We felt that we were a little under par and when the sun came out, the wicket did get a little better," player of the match Bumrah said.

"So we had to be really disciplined with what we were trying to do and we are very happy with the win."

Chasing a run-a-ball 120 to win, Pakistan lost skipper Babar Azam (13) when he edged Bumrah to the slips while Usman Khan and Fakhar Zaman also fell for 13.

But Rizwan, who was dropped in the third over by Shivam Dube near the boundary, made a patient knock of 31 before Bumrah made another crucial breakthrough when he had the opener bowled.

The game suddenly turned India's way when Rishabh Pant took a second running catch to dismiss Shadab Khan as Pakistan's required run rate crept up and left them needing 21 runs off the last two overs.

Bumrah was saved for the penultimate over where the pace spearhead conceded only three runs and finished his spell with his third wicket when Iftikhar Ahmed was caught in the deep.

Naseem Shah smashed two boundaries in the final over but Arshdeep Singh ensured there were no fireworks at the end as India held on for a narrow win.

 

WATCH: Fans in Jalalabad gather in the city to watch the match

[embed]https://youtu.be/y2dsljgn9fc[/embed]

HUGE ROAR

In the first innings, which was delayed by rain, Rohit set the tone in the first over when he launched a Shaheen Afridi delivery into the stands behind midwicket to draw a huge roar from the crowd.

Spirits were briefly dampened in the 34,000-capacity stadium when the rain returned and the players walked off but play restarted 35 minutes later with no overs lost.

Virat Kohli kicked things off with a boundary but he played a loose shot to fall to Naseem Shah when he smashed a wide ball straight to the covers before Afridi dismissed Rohit when he skied a ball to deep square leg.

Axar Patel and Pant accelerated the scoring rate, but Shah struck again to remove Axar when the all-rounder charged down the pitch only to see the ball crash into the stumps.

Pant continued to live dangerously as he refused to take his foot off the gas, throwing his body around the crease to play unorthodox yet trademark shots to all corners of the ground, but he was losing partners at the other end.

The wicketkeeper's luck finally ran out when he fell for 42 while the middle and lower order collapsed, with none of the last seven batters getting into double digits as India were all out for 119.

"We didn't bat well enough. At 10 overs we were in a good position and you expect the guys to stitch together partnerships. We fell 15-20 runs short, every run matters on a pitch like that," Rohit said.

"The bowlers did the job for us... The never-say-die attitude in the team with 119 on the board, we didn't make early inroads but we got together and said if it can happen to us, it could happen to them." – Reuters

 

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Venezuela stun Spain while Paraguay down Afghanistan in knock-out stage of Futsal WC

Venezuela and Paraguay have now secured their spots in the quarter-finals.

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Venezuela pulled off one of the biggest shocks in FIFA Futsal World Cup history on Wednesday night in Uzbekistan when they knocked out two-time champions, Spain, 2-1.

Paraguay in turn came from behind during their match to down Afghanistan in extra-time 3-1.

Afghanistan’s only goal was scored by Hamid Hossaini.

Venezuela and Paraguay have now secured their spots in the quarter-finals.

Paraguay had however been en route to being victims of the spirited Afghanistan team but rallied at the 11th hour to pull off their win.

Paraguay will next play the winner of the Thailand-France match, while Venezuela will encounter Ukraine.

“It’s hard to even describe these emotions. It’s my fourth World Cup, it could be my last. I’m really, really happy. But it hasn’t finished and we want more: to be among the best four teams in the world,” said
Javier Adolfo Salas, Paraguay pivot, after the match.

Thursday’s lineup will see Morocco face Iran this evening followed by the Portugal vs Kazakhstan match.

Futsal fans across Afghanistan can tune in on Thursday to watch the match on Ariana Television live from 5.30pm.

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Futsal World Cup: Afghanistan going in to game against Paraguay ‘to win’

Afghanistan played Paraguay in a friendly in Tashkent ahead of the start of the World Cup. They tied 2-2

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Afghanistan will face Paraguay tonight, Wednesday September 25, in their Round of 16 match in this year’s Futsal World Cup. 

This is Afghanistan’s debut in the tournament while Paraguay is a seven-time participant. 

Ranked 13th in the world, Paraguay was the top team in Group A.

Afghanistan is ranked by FIFA as 30th in the world. 

The match will take place at the Homa Arena stadium in Tashkent and kicks off at 7.30pm. 

Afghanistan played Paraguay in a friendly in Tashkent ahead of the start of the World Cup. They tied 2-2. 

Speaking ahead of the match, Afghanistan winger Farzad Mahmoodi said: “Afghanistan’s presence in the top 16 teams of the 2024 World Cup is a great honor for the people of Afghanistan. 

“We had a friendly match against Paraguay before the start of the World Cup, which ended in a 2-2 draw. We hope that tonight will be our night. 

“With the support of our fans in Huma Arena, we will go into the game to win.”

Paraguay’s coach Carlos Chilavert meanwhile pointed out that the team knows Afghanistan are a force to be reckoned with. 

“We know Afghanistan are very tough opponents. When we arrived here, we played a friendly against them and it was really even, really tough. 

“They are a very hard-working team, with very good technical players. We know what we’re up against. We will have to be at our best if we want to have a chance of going through.”

Fans across Afghanistan can tune in to watch all the action on Ariana Television tonight. ATN is the official broadcaster of the tournament and is broadcasting matches live. 

 

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Afghan national cricket players return to Kabul after ODI series win against South Africa

The team claimed matches one and two in convincing fashion to take the Sharjah series bragging rights

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Afghanistan’s national cricket team returned to Kabul on Tuesday morning after sealing a historic ODI series win against South Africa.

Afghanistan sealed the series 2-1, making it the first time in history the team has not only secured a series win against South Africa - in any format - but it was also their first-ever series win over a top five ICC-ranked side. 

The team claimed matches one and two in convincing fashion to take the Sharjah series bragging rights, winning the matches by six wickets (and with 144 balls to spare) and 177 runs respectively, bowling out the Proteas for scores of 106 and 134. 

South Africa would go on to claim the third match in consolation, chasing down a target of just 170.

The Afghans are ninth on the ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings, with a rating of 82, fractionally behind Bangladesh (86).

Afghanistan meet South Africa again in their Champions Trophy group, alongside Australia and England from mid-February.

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