Sport
Historic team rankings favor India and Pakistan at World Cup
India’s recent run of form in 50-over cricket means Rohit Sharma’s side will start this year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup as the No.1 ranked side on the MRF Tyres ODI Team Rankings.
India have lost just four of the 20 ODI matches they have contested in 2023 and as a result cannot be overtaken as the top-ranked side on the team rankings before the World Cup begins on October 5.
While Pakistan’s rating of 115 is just two rating points behind India’s, these two places are set in stone up until the start of the World Cup regardless of the outcome of any remaining fixtures between now and the commencement of the six-week tournament.
The warm-up fixtures that are scheduled to take place prior to the World Cup are not counted as official ODI matches and do not alter the team rankings.
An historical look at past World Cups shows this could be a good sign for both India and Pakistan, with every edition of the tournament since 1999 having been won by sides that have occupied the top two places on the ODI rankings at the start of the event.
Australia were ranked second when winning a second title in England in 1999 and then occupied top spot on the rankings when claiming the coveted World Cup trophy in South Africa in 2003 and in the West Indies in 2007.
Adam Gilchrist’s monstrous hundred helped Australia to victory over Sri Lanka in the 2007 World Cup Final.
Similarly, India held the No.2 ranking when victorious on home soil in 2011 and Australia (2015) and England (2019) were the No.1 ranked sides when they proved too strong in the two most recent editions of the 50-over showcase.
While the ICC applied their ratings system to results that dated back to 1981, there was not enough data available to apply these ratings to results prior to this year due to infrequency of matches and the small number of competing teams.
As a result, there are no rankings available for the first two editions of the World Cup in 1975 and 1979.
Another good sign for India is the recent domination of host countries at the World Cup.
The three most recent World Cups have been won by countries that hosted the World Cup Final and India will get their chance to keep that trend going when the 2023 decider is held at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19.
And while all the pressure will be on India as the sole host of the World Cup this year and current holder of the premier ODI ranking, Rohit’s side can take further confidence in the performance of No.1 ranked sides at previous editions of the tournament.
Only once has the top-ranked team failed to make it through to the knockout stages of the event – Australia narrowly missed on qualifying for the semi-finals in 1992 – and the side with the No.1 ranking has made it through to the tournament decider on seven of the most recent 10 occasions.
International Sports
Ariana News to broadcast key AFC Champions League Two clash
The match will be played in Riyadh, where Al-Nassr will aim to make home advantage count following their strong performances earlier in the campaign.
Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr will take on Iraq’s Al-Zawraa in a crucial AFC Champions League Two group-stage encounter tomorrow, Wednesday December 24, as both sides look to strengthen their positions in the competition.
The match will be played in Riyadh, where Al-Nassr will aim to make home advantage count following their strong performances earlier in the campaign.
With a squad packed with international stars and attacking depth, the Saudi club will be targeting another positive result to move closer to qualification for the knockout stages.
Al-Zawraa, one of Iraq’s most successful clubs, arrive determined to bounce back and keep their continental hopes alive.
Known for their discipline and resilience, the Baghdad-based side will be looking to frustrate the hosts and capitalize on any opportunities on the counterattack.
The encounter is expected to draw significant attention from football fans across the region, as the AFC Champions League Two continues to showcase competitive clashes between leading clubs.
The match will be broadcast across Afghanistan live and exclusively on Ariana News from 8:30pm.
Sport
Afghanistan participates in Global Handball Congress as Asia reaffirms support
At the conclusion of the voting process, Egypt’s Hassan Moustafa was re-elected as President of the International Handball Federation, securing another four-year term.
Afghanistan has participated in the Global Handball Congress held in Cairo, Egypt, with the head of the Afghanistan Handball Federation attending the international gathering alongside representatives from 107 member countries of the International Handball Federation (IHF).
The congress took place from December 19 to 22 and included elections for leadership positions within both the global and Asian handball governing bodies.
At the conclusion of the voting process, Egypt’s Hassan Moustafa was re-elected as President of the International Handball Federation, securing another four-year term.
At the continental level, Badr Mohammed Diyab Saleh Al-Diyab was elected President of the Asian Handball Federation.
Officials from the Afghanistan Handball Federation said that several meetings were held on the sidelines of the congress with senior international handball officials, including the newly elected Asian federation president.
According to the officials, the Asian handball chief reaffirmed continued support for the development and advancement of handball in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s participation in the global congress is being viewed as an important step toward strengthening international sports relations, attracting broader institutional support, and promoting the growth of handball in the country—a sport that has faced significant challenges and limitations in recent years.
Afghanistan’s national futsal team played a friendly match against Kuwait on Saturday, ending in a 4-4 draw with the hosts.
Afghanistan’s goals came from Sayed Murtaza Hossaini (1), Hamid Reza Hossaini (2), and Omid Qanbari (1). The two teams are set to face each other again on Monday for the second friendly match.
A five-day training camp for the Afghanistan futsal team began on Friday in Kuwait and will run until Tuesday. The camp is designed to prepare the players for a strong showing at the 2026 AFC Futsal Asian Cup.
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