Sport
ATN to broadcast World Cup Qualifier; Here’s what you need to know
The long-awaited 2023 ODI World Cup Qualifiers finally gets underway on Sunday (June 18) and once again Ariana Television Network (ATN) is thrilled to announce it has secured the rights to broadcast the matches live in Afghanistan.
The qualifiers will run through until July 9 and all matches will be broadcast on Ariana Television.
The qualifiers will see 10 teams battle it out for the final two available spots in the World Cup which is scheduled for October and November in India.
Afghanistan, India, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, and South Africa have already sealed their World Cup spots.
However, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Netherlands, along with five Associate nations - Oman, Scotland, UAE, Nepal and USA - will get another crack at making the main event through the qualifier.
Only two of these ten sides will eventually take part in this year’s World Cup.
So how does the qualifier work?
All matches will have ODI status, and the ten teams have been split into two groups of five. Group A includes Nepal, Netherlands, USA, West Indies and Zimbabwe, while Group B consists of Ireland, Oman, Scotland, Sri Lanka and UAE.
Each side will play four group matches, facing the others in their group once, in a round-robin format. The winner of each game will be awarded two points, while ties and no-results will fetch one point each.
After the 20 group-stage matches are done, the top three sides from each group will progress to the Super Six, carrying over their points. Each team in the Super Six will face the three qualifying teams from the opposite first-round group.
Once complete, the top two teams on the Super Six table will qualify for the 2023 World Cup.
However, there will be a match between the top-two Super Six sides, with the winner taking home a shiny trophy. But the final will be a win-win game for both sides, since they would have both booked their World Cup berths.
The tournament commences on June 18, with the group-stage games finishing on June 27.
The Super Six will run from June 29 to July 7, while the final will take place on July 9 at Harare Sports Club.
Playoffs to decide seventh to tenth places will take place from June 30 to July 6.
On Saturday, teams got the chance to experience a safari ahead of the qualifiers and team captains made use of the opportunity for a group picture, along with the trophy.
Ariana Television Network will broadcast the matches daily live on TV and Website.
Pre-match shows will start at 11am (Kabul time), while the day’s match will start at 11.30am (Kabul time).
Matches are streamed live on Ariana Television websites simultaneously:
www.arianatelevision.com/live and www.arianatelevision.com/icc-live
CLICK HERE for the broadcast schedule on Ariana Television
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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