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Faf du Plessis smashes 75 off 32 balls in Abu Dhabi T10 League

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South African player Faf du Plessis showcased his batting brilliance by blasting a blistering 75 for Morrisville Samp Army against New York Strikers in the fifth game of the 2024 Abu Dhabi T10 League on Friday.

The 40-year-old reached his fifty in just 22 balls. He remained unbeaten on 75 off 32 balls, hitting five boundaries and six sixes.

Samp Army posted 135-1 in 10 overs, 41 of it coming from Adndries Gous’s bat, and they won the match by 36 runs.

It was one of the four matches played on Friday.

In the other matches, Northern Warriors defeated Delhi Bulls by 7 wickets, with Jonson Charles hitting a fifty.

Team Abu Dhabi thrashed UP Nawabs by 8 wickets after bowling them out for just 51. Mark Adair claimed four wickets. Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar and Zeeshan Naseer picked up two wickets each.

In the last match of the day, Deccan Gladiators beat Ajman Bolts by 20 runs. Gladiators set a target of 138 runs, with Jos Buttler making 60 runs off 22 balls.

In reply, Ajman Bolts fell short on 117 despite captain Mohammad Nabi blasting 43 off 13 balls.

International Sports

New Zealand, India qualify for Champions Trophy semi-finals

Chasing 237, Ravindra took full control of the chase, slamming his fourth ODI century, combining with Tom Latham for a 129-run fourth wicket stand, after the duo took over from 72/3.

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With New Zealand’s comfortable five-wicket win against Bangladesh on Monday, Mitchell Santner’s side, along with India have qualified from Group A for the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finals.

A superb century from Rachin Ravindra on Champions Trophy debut landed New Zealand their semi-final spot at the marquee ICC event.

Chasing 237, Ravindra took full control of the chase, slamming his fourth ODI century, combining with Tom Latham for a 129-run fourth wicket stand, after the duo took over from 72/3.

New Zealand’s win meant that hosts Pakistan were knocked out of the tournament alongside Bangladesh, as India made their way into the final four as well along with the Black Caps.

Tuesday’s match will see South Africa and Australia take each other on.

Both Australia and South Africa are within striking distance of tournament progression.

These two sides have rich history, having played in some ripping ODI contests over the years.

This clash should be no different, given what’s on the line and what each of the sides displayed in their respective first tournament appearances.

With both sides coming off wins to kickstart their campaigns, top spot in Group B may well be decided here. It’s also likely that the winner books their spot in the semi-finals stage.

Cricket fans can once again tune in to watch today’s match live on Ariana Television. The match will start at 1:30pm but a preview show will be broadcast from 12:30.

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International Sports

Champions Trophy: Kohli’s unbeaten century secures 6-wicket win for India over Pakistan

Pakistan have lost both their matches and will need Bangladesh to beat New Zealand on Monday to have any chance of staying in contention for a last-four spot

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Star batsman Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 100 to lead India to a six-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday and push the title holders to the brink of elimination from the Champions Trophy.
 
Chasing 242 for victory, Kohli hit a boundary to seal the match with 45 balls to spare and register his 51st ODI ton after an innings which also saw him pass 14,000 runs in one-day international cricket, AFP reported.
 
Kohli, 36, removed his helmet and raised his bat to the Dubai International Stadium crowd after taking India closer to the semi-finals with two wins in two outings in Group A.
 
Pakistan have lost both their matches and will need Bangladesh to beat New Zealand on Monday to have any chance of staying in contention for a last-four spot.
 
The top two teams from the two groups will make the semi-finals.
 
“My job was clear — to control the middle overs, not take risks against the spinners and take on the pacers,” said Kohli.
 
“I was happy with the template, it’s how I play in ODIs. I have a decent understanding of my game.
 
“It’s about keeping the outside noise away, take care of my energy levels and thoughts. It’s easy for me to get pulled into expectations and frenzy around games like these.”
 
For Pakistan fans, the loss was a bitter pill to swallow. 
 
In cricket-crazed Pakistan’s biggest city, cafe owner Moiz Umer told AFP that customers asked him Sunday to change the TV channel to “avoid the humiliation” of witnessing their Champions Trophy defeat to arch-rivals India.
 
“For large parts of the Indian innings, a good number of people turned their backs to the match — facing their friends instead of the screen, such was the disappointment,” said the 45-year-old in the city of Karachi.
 
Pakistan is staging a major international tournament for the first time in nearly three decades but India refused to visit — citing security concerns and political tensions — meaning the teams faced each other in Dubai.
 
The return of international play has been a huge source of national pride but Pakistan fans at home suffered the double heartbreak on Sunday of watching their team falter from a distance.
 
“It was such a big match and we went down with a whimper,” said 42-year-old Zain Mursaleen, among around a hundred spectators with a deflated mood who had gathered to watch the match in Karachi.
 
“We love to see good cricket and Pakistan failed to produce that — again.”
 
“They came to the game with a loser’s mindset and never attempted to attack,” said 53-year-old chef Rasheed Saleem.
 
“I doubt they even realise how disheartening it is for fans to see them go down like this,” he added.
 
Saad Murtaza, a 29-year-old software engineer, said he began watching with “low expectations” but was still left disappointed.
 
“I thought they might surprise us, as it was more than just a game. Unfortunately, they failed to do so,” he said.
 
“They lack both the intent and the skills. I wasted my entire day watching this pathetic display of a game.”
 
The eight-team tournament only began on Wednesday. But Pakistan also lost their opening game, meaning their fate hangs on the outcome of a match between New Zealand and Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on Monday.
 
Fans can watch this match live in Afghanistan on Ariana Television. The match starts today, Monday 24 February, at 1:30pm. The pre match show however starts at 12:30.
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International Sports

Match Preview: India and Pakistan to face off in Dubai at Champions Trophy

Anticipation for Sunday’s encounter has meanwhile reached fever pitch, given their last 50-over encounter was way back in 2023 at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup

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Cricket’s fiercest rivals will lock horns on Sunday in a battle that will prove pivotal to the pair’s ICC Champions Trophy aspirations and in the world of cricket, it doesn’t get much bigger than this.

Dating back to 1952, India and Pakistan is a rivalry that’s not only stood the test of time, but continues to grow and evolve. 

These South Asian nations find another gear when they meet, the ICC states.

Anticipation for Sunday’s encounter has meanwhile reached fever pitch, given their last 50-over encounter was way back in 2023 at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, where India claimed a seven-wicket win. 

The two sides also met at last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, where India prevailed by just six runs.

But for Pakistan, the team has reached the point of desperation as the host nation needs to win if they want to progress to the semi-finals.

While Pakistan had a good run recently when they beat South Africa in the lead-up to the Champions Trophy, they lost to New Zealand in the opening event last week. 

In contrast, India however are eight wins from nine games in white-ball cricket this year so far, and unbeaten from four in ODIs. 

India dominated England 3-0 leading into the Champions Trophy, before taking care of Bangladesh in their first tournament match.

For Pakistan, their opening match last week got off to a poor start when they fell to a 60-run loss to the Black Caps in Karachi. The news also got worse for the reigning champions when it was revealed that star opener Fakhar Zaman would miss the remainder of the tournament due to injury.

ICC Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting meanwhile dissected where it went wrong for Pakistan in their opening match against New Zealand and what they need to put in place to upset arch-rivals India in Dubai.

Ponting discussed Pakistan’s plight with Sanjana Ganesan on the most recent episode of The ICC Review and said he thinks it is going to be tough for the Asian side to put the loss of Fakhar behind them and return to winning ways against India.

“It’s going to be hard for Pakistan now,” Ponting said.

“We spoke only a few days ago and my prediction for that game was that Pakistan would beat New Zealand and probably beat them quite comfortably.

“Fakhar’s injury didn’t help their cause but they were chasing a very big total on the back of some great batting from New Zealand. To post 320, it was always going to be a hard run chase.

“With Pakistan, we talk about it every tournament, they’re unpredictable. You never quite know what they’re going to do.

“On their day, they were as capable as anybody. And now, having lost to New Zealand, they’re going to have to be at their absolute best against India to beat them.

“India’s got off to a great start, Pakistan not so much. And with that injury that we spoke about, I think it’s going to be hard for them to bounce back, but they can.”

Sympathy for Fakhar

Ponting had sympathy for Fakhar, who injured himself while fielding against New Zealand and was then visibly disappointed after he was dismissed with the knowledge that his injury had flared and he would likely miss the remainder of the tournament.

Pakistan confirmed on Thursday that Imam-ul-Haq had been brought into their squad to replace Fakhar and Ponting said the team needed to move on as quickly as possible to ensure they give their best against India.

On Fakhar’s injury he said: “It is heartbreaking. These players work for these big tournaments. He’s been in super touch as well. been making a lot of runs.

“And his teammates would be gutted not to have him, but even more so for him…it’s always a hard thing to get over, but at the end of the day, you have to get over it. You’ve got to find a way to bounce back really quickly.

“The best thing you can do is sit back in the dressing room that night and discuss it and put it to bed and leave it there. And then when you get up the next day, as a group, you’ve got to find a way to regroup and find someone that can come in and do a good job for Pakistan.”

Sunday’s match will be played in Dubai and gets underway at 1:30pm Kabul time. 

Fans across the country can tune in to Ariana Television at 12:30pm for a preview show. The match will then be broadcast live across the country.

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