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.
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.
Afghanistan’s national under-19 cricket team defeated the United Arab Emirates by 180 runs on Wednesday, maintaining their unbeaten streak in the group stage at the ICC Men’s U19 CWC Asia Qualifiers.
In this match, Afghanistan scored 359 runs for the loss of only 4 wickets at the end of 50 overs.
This marks Afghanistan’s third consecutive victory in the regional group stage.
Previously, they had defeated Hong Kong and Oman by 8 wickets each.
Afghanistan is set to face the host nation, Nepal, on Saturday (April 19) in what will be their final group-stage match.
The winner of that game is likely to secure a spot in the 2026 ICC Men’s U19 World Cup.
Sport
IPL 2025 Orange and Purple Cap leaderboards: Kuldeep moves up to No. 3
Here’s how things look on the run-scorers’ and wicket-takers’ tables after Sunday’s matches
Following Sunday’s double-header in this year’s Indian Premier League, a few batters have gained places in the Purple Cap leaderboard. No change was made in the Orange Cap leaderboard.
Orange Cap leaderboard
There is no change in the top three on the run-scorers’ table but a few batters have gained places. Nicholas Pooran is still the No. 1, having accumulated 349 runs in six innings.
This is followed by Gujarat Titans’ B Sai Sudharsan, who has 329 runs, and Mitchell Marsh, at No. 3 with 265 runs despite missing LSG’s last game.
Beyond the top three, 11 other batters have crossed the 200-mark.
Notably, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Virat Kohli who has advanced places to be fifth behind Shreyas Iyer (250 runs) after his 62 not out off 45 balls against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Sunday’s afternoon game.
He is two runs shy of Shreyas.
Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav’s 28-ball 40 in Mumbai Indians’ 12-run win over Delhi Capitals (DC) has taken his tally to 239.
Purple Cap leaderboard
Noor Ahmad and Shardul Thakur remain the top two in the list but there’s a new bowler at No. 3: Kuldeep Yadav.
Kuldeep was DC’s best bowler on Sunday, picking up two wickets and leaking just 5.75 an over as MI posted 205 for 5. He now has ten wickets and an overall economy rate of 5.60, better than the other bowlers with same number of wickets in the list.
Hardik Pandya, Prasidh Krishna, R Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed also stay on ten wickets.
Hardik couldn’t move up after going wicketless for the first time in this IPL, against DC.
Monday’s match
Today’s match, Monday April 14, will see Lucknow Super Giants take on Chennai Super Kings in Lucknow. This match is expected to deliver a thrilling battle for fans as MS Dhoni will lead the Chennai Super Kings team – much to the fans’ pleasure.
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Dhoni is however poised to hit a batting milestone, which could be reached today. Dhoni needs only 39 runs to reach a 4,000 T20 run tally in India. Commentators expect thunderous celebrations by Dhoni’s fans in the stadium if he hits the mark.
For fans across Afghanistan, this exciting match will be broadcast live and exclusively in the country by Ariana Television. Fans can tune in from 5:30 pm.
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