Zimbabwe on Wednesday trumped Afghanistan by 4 wickets in the first of three T20Is - in a match that was however historical for Mohammad Nabi. It was his 300th appearance in international cricket.

The 39-year-old Afghanistan National Cricket Team all-rounder achieved this special triple century feat to become the only Afghan cricketer to do so.

Nabi’s milestone comes after he made his debut on April 19, 2009 and on Wednesday he made sure his 300th international match was a memorable one as he played a sensational knock with the bat.

He scored 44 runs off 27 balls, with 5 fours and 1 six, to help his team register a decent total of 144/6 on the board.

During his innings on Wednesday, Nabi also unlocked a major milestone as he completed 150 fours in his history of T20I cricket.

Nabi made his Test debut in June 2018 against India and has played 3 matches, scoring 33 runs at an average of 5.50 and picking 8 wickets at an average of 31.75, an economy of 2.79 and a strike rate of 68.2.

In ODIs, he made his debut in April 2009 against Scotland and has featured in 167 matches so far. He has scored 3,600 runs at an average of 27.48 and picked up 172 wickets at an average of 32.47, an economy of 4.27 and a strike rate of 45.5.

Cricket Addictor reports that in T20Is, he has played 130 matches and scored 2,209 runs at an average of 22.54 after making his debut in February 2010 against Ireland.

With the ball, he has bagged 97 wickets at an average of 28.01, an economy of 7.33, and a strike rate of 22.9.

Wednesday’s outcome in Harare meanwhile was only the second time Afghanistan has lost to Zimbabwe.

Speaking after the match, skipper Rashid Khan said that their mindset was to go on the field and put a good total on the board but that they were about 15 or so runs shy of this.

Afghanistan’s 2nd T20I will be played on Friday at the same venue.

The squad is as follows:

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sediqullah Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Mohammad Ishaq, Rashid Khan(c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fareed Ahmad Malik

Zimbabwe (Playing XI): Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani(w), Dion Myers, Wessly Madhevere, Sikandar Raza(ci), Ryan Burl, Wellington Masakadza, Tashinga Musekiwa, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Trevor Gwandu

Lanka T10 Super League is finally underway with the first match of the inaugural event taking place Wednesday, December 11, between Hambantota Bangla Tigers and Jaffna Titans.

On the field for the Tigers are three Afghans - Hazratullah Zazai, Karim Janat, and Mohammad Shahzad.  

This exciting tournament will consist of six teams. Three matches are scheduled each day, with the final on December 19. 

For fans who want to watch the tournament, be sure to tune in to Ariana Television every afternoon from 3pm, as all matches will be broadcast live in Afghanistan. 

Day 1 schedule will see Jaffna Titans face Hambantota Bangla Tigers in the first match; Nuwara Eliya Kings will then take on Colombo Jaguars; and the final match of the day will see Kandy Bolts face Galle Marvels.

Nuwara Eliya Kings have two Afghans in their squad - Zubaid Akbari; and right-arm pacer Aftab Alam; while Colombo Jaguars has 

Najibullah Zadran in their team; and Kandy Bolts has left-arm spinner Hamza Hotak.

A total of 25 matches will be played in the tournament over the course of 9 days and 21 group stage matches will be followed by the Qualifier 1, Eliminator and the Qualifier 2 match.

The teams participating in Lanka T10 League are Colombo Jaguars, Hambantota Bangla Tigers, Galle Marvels, Kandy Bolts, Jaffna Titans and Nuwara Eliya Kings.

The teams will play a total of 7 league matches each and the top 4 will proceed for the Playoffs. The top 2 teams will play in the Qualifier 1; the winner of this game will go on to play in Finals. 

The loser will get another chance. The 3rd and 4th placed teams will square off in the Eliminator match to be played on the 18th of December. 

The team that wins the Eliminator will play against the loser of the Qualifier 1 in Qualifier 2 match. The winner of Qualifier 2 will play against the winner of Qualifier 1 in the Finals on 19th of December.

For fans across Afghanistan, be sure to tune in to Ariana Television every afternoon to watch this thrilling cricket extravaganza.

With just one day to go before the start of the inaugural Lanka T10 Super League in Kandy, foreign players, coaches and support staff have started arriving in the Sri Lankan capital. 

Seven Afghan players were snapped up for this exciting new event, and will feature in four of the six teams. 

Najibullah Zadran is playing for Colombo Jaguars; and left-arm spinner Hamza Hotak is in Kandy Bolts’ lineup. 

Nuwara Eliya Kings snapped up two Afghans, Zubaid Akbari; and right-arm pacer Aftab Alam. 

Hambantota Banga Tigers in turn have three players from Afghanistan in their squad. 

They are Hazratullah Zazai, who famously hit 162 off 62 balls, the highest in a T20I, in Dehradun in February 2019 against Ireland; Karim Janat, the younger brother of Asghar Afghan; and one of the country’s most celebrated batsmen, Mohammad Shahzad. 

Lanka T10 Super League 2024 will get underway on Wednesday, December 11. The first match will be played between Jaffna Titans and Hambantota Tigers at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, in Pallekele.

Below is the complete 2024 Lanka T10 Super League squad details for all six participating teams.

Colombo Jaguars

Angelo Mathews, Azam Khan, Kamindu Mendis, Matheesha Pathirana, Tymal Mills, Asif Ali, Angelo Perera, Akila Dhananjaya, Ali Khan, Najibullah Zadran, Isitha Wijesundara, Ramesh Mendis, Aamer Jamal, Ranuda Somarathne, Jewel Andrew, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Garuka Sanketh

Galle Marvels

Shakib Al Hasan, Maheesh Theekshana, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Andre Fletcher, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Alex Hales, Binura Fernando, Luke Wood, Jeffrey Vandersay, Zahoor Khan, Sandun Weerakkody, Prabath Jayasuriya, Kesrick Williams, Dumindu Sewmina, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Sadisha Rajapaksa

Hambantota Bangla Tigers

Dasun Shanaka, Qasim Akram, Kusal Perera, Isuru Udana, Hazratullah Zazai, Karim Janat, Dushmantha Chameera, Richard Gleeson, Tharindu Rathnayake, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Nishan Peiris, Soumya Sarkar, Shevon Daniel, Brian Bennett, Sahan Arachchige, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Chamath Gomez

Jaffna Titans

Wanindu Hasaranga, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Nuwan Thushara, Kusal Mendis, Johnson Charles, Dwaine Pretorius, Charith Asalanka, Babar Azam, Dunith Wellalage, David Wiese, Pramod Madushan, Pavan Rathnayake, George Garton, Trevin Mathew, Kevin Wickham

Kandy Bolts

George Munsey, Thisara Perera, Mohammad Huraira, Milinda Siriwardana, Amir Hamza, Dinesh Chandimal, Pathum Nissanka, Saim Ayub, Chaturanga de Silva, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shehan Jayasuriya, Chamika Gunasekara, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Danal Hemananda, Arinesto Vezha, Seekkuge Prasanna

Nuwara Eliya Kings

Kyle Mayers, Avishka Fernando, Saurabh Tiwary, Danushka Gunathilaka, Oshane Thomas, Kasun Rajitha, Dushan Hemantha, Benny Howell, Lahiru Madushanka, Sediqullah Atal, Nimasara Atharagalla, Yashodha Lanka, Zubaid Akbari, Vishen Halambage, Rivaldo Clarke, Chamika Karunaratne, Pulindu Perera

Lanka T10 Watch Live

Cricket fans across the country can tune in to Ariana Television from 2pm on Wednesday December 11 to watch the event live.

The league will wrap up on December 19.