Sport
Afghanistan’s spin trio skittle Pakistan for 201 in first ODI

Pakistan clinched a whopping 142-run win over Afghanistan in Hambantota to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series on Tuesday.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bat in the first ODI against Afghanistan in southern Sri Lanka. But Afghanistan were seen off for just 59.
This is the first bilateral series between the two teams and comes as preparation for the upcoming Asia Cup and World Cup tournaments.
The remaining two matches are in Colombo on Thursday and Saturday.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka co-host the Asia Cup from August 30, while India hosts the World Cup from October 5.
PAKISTAN: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi
AFGHANISTAN: Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Alikhil, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman
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.
Sport
Afghanistan A registers massive win over Ireland A in 4-day match

Afghanistan A cricket team defeated Ireland A by an innings and 194 runs in a four-day Test match that ended on Thursday.
Choosing to bat first after winning the toss in Abu Dhabi, Afghanistan A team scored 612 runs in their first innings for the loss of seven wickets.
Bahir Shah (187), Riaz Hassan (94), Imran (85), Shams-ur-Rahman (84), Afsar Zazai (55) and Darwish Rasooli (53) were the major contributors for the total.
The Irish team scored 309 runs in their first innings, before being asked by Afghanistan to follow on.
Ireland A were bowled out for only 109 runs in their second innings.
Arab Gul was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan A as he took 10 wickets. Zia-ur-Rehman followed with five wickets.
Sport
Afghanistan win U-19 cricket series despite rain-impacted loss to Nepal

Nepal’s U-19 cricket team defeated Afghanistan by 85 runs via the DLS method in the rain-hit final match of their three-game series at Mulpani Cricket Stadium. However, Afghanistan won the series 2–1, having already secured victory in the first two match.
Batting first, Nepal posted 191 all out in 44.5 overs, with Sahil Patel scoring 46. Afghanistan struggled in response, collapsing to 46 for 6 in 20.1 overs before rain intervened. The match ended with Nepal’s 85-run victory under the DLS method.
Afghanistan had earlier dominated the series with a 130-run win in the first match and a dramatic one-run victory in the second. Despite the rain-affected loss, Afghanistan’s 2–1 series triumph highlighted their overall superiority, while Nepal showed potential in their final match.
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