Sport
Brazil, Ukraine, Argentina and France through to Futsal World Cup semi-finals
The tournament’s most successful team so far has been Brazil, with Marcel the top scorer.
Brazil, Ukraine, Argentina and debutants France are all through to this year’s FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan after having come out tops through the groups stage, round of 16 and the quarterfinals.
Semis will kick off on Wednesday, October 2, when Brazil face Ukraine in Tashkent.
On Thursday, October 3, Argentina will face France.
Third-place match will be played on Sunday, October 6 in Tashkent.
The final will follow later in the day.
The tournament’s most successful team so far has been Brazil with Marcel the top scorer.
There have been 341 goals scored in 48 matches, averaging 7.1 goals per match up to the quarterfinals. Leading the pack is Brazil’s Marcel, who has scored an impressive 10 goals.
Close behind is Argentina’s Alan Brandi with 7 goals.
Iran’s Salar Aghapour follows with 6 goals and several players are tied with 5 goals each, including Argentina’s Kevin Arrieta and Matías Rosa, Brazil’s Pito, Kazakhstan’s Arnold Knaub, and Venezuela’s Kevin Briceño.
Francis Lokoka, Abdessamad Mohammed and Raphael Reynaud discuss France beating Paraguay and reaching the FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024 quarter-finals.
For France however, making it to the semi-finals is a dream come true. Making their first ever appearance at this global event, team member Abdessamad Mohammed summed it up after they beat Paraguay. “I’m not sure we could have dreamt for more than this,” he said.
Fellow teammate Francis Lokoka added: “It is absolutely amazing. If somebody had told me this was going to happen, I would not have believed them in my wildest dreams.”
“It is unbelievable,” said coach Raphael Reynaud. “When we came here our aim was to make it through the group stage. But we are competitors so once we’d achieved that, we told ourselves that anything was possible. We believe that we can go far in this tournament.
“What is happening here is a dream come true, but we have worked hard to get here, putting the pieces together one step at a time. It is no accident that we have come this far. You do not beat Paraguay in a World Cup quarter-final by chance.”
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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