Sport

Afghanistan and India play out goalless draw in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

Published

8 months ago

March 22, 2024

The Indian men's football team was held to a goalless draw by Afghanistan in its Group A match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC qualifiers at the Damac Club Stadium in Abha, Saudi Arabia on Friday.

Courtesy the result, India, 117th in the FIFA Rankings, moved up to the second place in Group A with four points from three matches, leapfrogging Kuwait who have three points. World No. 158 Afghanistan are bottom of the four-team group with one point, Olympics.com reported.

The Indian football team has also now failed to score in its last five outings. Manvir Singh’s winner vs Kuwait on November 16, 2023 is the last time the Indian team managed an international goal.

A feisty midfield battle ensued in the opening exchanges. While Afghanistan looked to use their pace and physicality to assert dominance, India were intent on playing a passing game.

Vikram Partap Singh, who had earned his senior national team debut in January, made the starting XI for the first time in his career and consistently troubled the Afghanistan defence. The forward kept drifting in between the centre and the wing, often switching with Manvir Singh, which caused much confusion in the Afghanistan ranks.

As the match wore on, the Indian midfield slowly began to assert control. Lallianzuala Chhangte, prancing down the left, found an unmarked Manvir with a low cross. The latter, who had drifted inside from the right flank, sent his shot wide.

Despite India’s control over the game, Afghanistan kept creating chances of their own, especially on the counter. Mosawer Ahadi was released down the right flank before cutting in and unleashing a left-footed curler that India custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu caught with both hands.

Manvir had more than one opportunity to score in the first-half itself, first from a corner by Chhangte and then from a cross whipped in by fullback Nikhil Poojary. However, both went begging as the first-half came to a close.

Vikram Pratap, too, missed a few in the second-half.

Twice, he was played in behind the Afghanistan defence. While on the first occasion, the ball was just a yard too far, the 22-year-old managed to wriggle past his marker in the second opportunity, only to make the angle too narrow for himself to take a crack at goal.

Vikram’s last opportunity came just minutes ahead of the hour mark when he managed to get into the six-yard box, unmarked, and connected a header onto a cross by Akash Mishra. The effort went inches wide.

Vikram’s night, however, soon came to an end. A mistimed tackle earned him a booking, and head coach Igor Stimac took the opportunity to replace him with Brandon Fernandes.

Afghanistan kept resorting to the counter-attacks and had arguably their best scoring opportunity of the game in the 62nd minute when Rahmat Akbari’s low cross found Omid Popalzay in the Indian box but Rahul Bheke intervened just in time to shrug the Afghanistan midfielder off the ball.

Stimac made a host of changes with a quarter of an hour left on the clock, bringing on Liston Colaco, Mahesh Naorem, and Deepak Tangri. Colaco found a lot of joy down the right, frequently sending in crosses but the Afghanistan defence managed to deal with them.

Subhasish Bose, who had earlier replaced Mishra, also managed to get a free header inside the Afghanistan box, as he nodded a Colaco corner inches wide of the target.

As the match wore into injury time, Colaco created one last opportunity, sprinting down the right flank. His low cross missed captain Sunil Chhetri but landed at Mahesh’s feet, who tried to create space for a shot but lost possession.

The Afghan men's football team will again play India in its next match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC qualifiers on March 26 in Guwahati.

Related Topics:#َAfghanistan featured Football India Sport

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Afghanistan to tour Zimbabwe for all-format series

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said the tour will take place from December 9 to January 6

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2024

Ariana News

AfghanAtalan will tour Zimbabwe next month for an all-format series that will feature two Test matches, three ODIs and three T20Is.

According to the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) the tour will take place from December 9 to January 6.

First up will be a three-match T20I series to be played on December 9, 11 and 12 at the Harare Sports Club.

This will be followed by a three-match ODI series on December 15, 17, and 19 at the same venue.

The tour will conclude with a two-match Test series in Bulawayo, with the first Test scheduled from December 26 to 30 and the second from January 2 to 6.

Mirwais Ashraf, Chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, said in a statement that “this year (2024) has been quite productive for us both domestically and internationally, and we’ve had good achievements.

“We are committed to striving hard and adding more bilateral cricket to our calendar in the next year and bringing more glory to our nation,” he said.

“The all-format tour to Zimbabwe is a significant event for us. We have a rich history with Zimbabwe, and playing there has always been challenging, but it’s a challenge I believe the AfghanAtalan can face confidently,” he added.

Zimbabwe Cricket’s Chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said December 26 and January 1 “Test matches are iconic cricket fixtures that we are delighted to be adding to our calendar this festive season and we are looking forward to celebrating in style one of the finest traditions in the sport’s long history.

“Before the Test series, scheduled for Bulawayo, we will start off with some T20I and ODI action in Harare to complete a full tour, a clear demonstration of our commitment to improve our game across all formats.

“Matches between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan are always intense and exciting affairs and we have no doubt the players will once again serve up some great entertainment befitting such a historic tour.”

The AfghanAtalan squad will arrive in Zimbabwe on December 6, where they will have two practice sessions before the first T20I match on December 9.

Sport

Bangladesh announce squad for ODI series against Afghanistan, Shanto to continue as captain

Published

3 days ago

November 2, 2024

Ariana News

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Friday announced its squad for the upcoming ODI series against Afghanistan. Najmul Hossain Shanto, who had expressed his desire to quit captaincy following the South Africa Tests, has been named the captain for the series.

The announcement follows the discussion between Shanto and BCB president Faruque Ahmed on Thursday evening, as Shanto had informed the board of his reluctance to continue as Bangladesh's all-format captain.

Bangladesh are without Shakib Al Hasan, who Faruque said voluntarily pulled out of reckoning for this ODI series. Litton Das is also missing due to fever which kept him out of the Chattogram Test against South Africa.

Pacer Nahid Rana is the only uncapped player in the squad, which sees the return of opener Zakir Hasan and left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed.

Zakir has featured in only one ODI, while Nasum's last 50-over game came in the ODI World Cup in India last year.

Anamul Haque, Taijul Islam and Hasan Mahmud have not found places in the squad with Mahmud missing due to a shoulder injury. Wicketkeeper batter Litton Das also misses out due to fever.

The ODI series will kick start on November 6, followed by the second and third games on November 9 and 11. All the matches will take place at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Bangladesh's ODI squad for Afghanistan:

Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Zakir Hasan, Nazmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana

Sport

Rashid Khan retained by Gujrat Titans ahead of IPL 2025 auction

“No T20 team would be complete without a world-class spinner, and we are fortunate to have one of the very best in Rashid Khan,” Gujrat Titans said in a news release.

Published

4 days ago

November 1, 2024

Ariana News

Afghan cricket star Rashid Khan has been retained by the Indian Premier League side Gujrat Titans ahead of the auction.

Khan has been retained for 180 million Indian rupees (approx. $2.14 million).

“No T20 team would be complete without a world-class spinner, and we are fortunate to have one of the very best in Rashid Khan,” Gujrat Titans said in a news release.

“Rashid started weaving his magic right from the outset in our first season, where he returned with 19 wickets. He upped the ante in 2023 with 27 wickets, which includes a spectacular hat-trick against Kolkata Knight Riders. Rashid also became the first player to cross 50 wickets for our franchise during the 2024 season,” according to the news release.

“Also not to forget, he underlines his value as an all-rounder with remarkable contributions as a batter - let it be those last ball finishes against SRH in 2022 or PBKS in 2024, or the unforgettable night in 2023 at Wankhede where he smashed his highest T20 score,” it added.

Rashid Khan was picked by Gujrat Titans before the auction in 2022, when the franchise had just entered the IPL. He got 150 million Indian rupees ($1.78 million) then.

Other players retained by Gujrat Titans are Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia.

IPL auction will take place in November or December.