Sport
Hope, Pooran fire West Indies to World Cup qualifying win over Nepal
Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran hit centuries to propel the West Indies to a convincing 101-run win over Nepal at the World Cup Qualifier in Harare on Thursday.
Hope scored 132 while Pooran made a brisk 115 as the pair put on 216 for the fourth wicket to help the two-time champions post 339-7 after a bad start to the innings, AFP reported.
Kyle Mayers fell for just one and Johnson Charles was out for nought as the West Indies slumped to 9-2. Opener Brandon King made 32 before he was bowled by legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane.
"We were put on the back foot there," said Hope.
"The key was absorbing as much pressure as possible and then find a way to transfer that pressure in the back end.
"Pooran made it a lot easier for me. The aim was to take it as deep as possible give us the best chance towards the end."
Hope and Pooran joined forces in the 16th over and took the game away from Nepal, who were left to rue a dropped catch off Pooran early in his innings.
Wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh put down a Pooran edge off left-arm spinner Lalit Rajbanshi when the batsman was on just three.
With Hope ticking along at a more sedate pace, Pooran took on the role of aggressor before both players reached their hundreds in the 40th over.
Hope completed his 15th ODI ton off 107 balls before Pooran carved Gulsan Jha to the boundary a few deliveries later to bring up his second one-day century off 81 balls – four years after his first.
Dipendra Singh Airee eventually removed Pooran for 115 with a terrific catch off his own bowling but Rovman Powell kept the runs flowing with a quick-fire 29 alongside Jason Holder's 16 not out.
Hope holed out to long-off in the final over for 132 and Keemo Paul was bowled off the last ball as Rajbanshi finished with 3-52.
Nepal's chase began poorly with Alzarri Joseph uprooting Kushal Bhurtel's off stump in the second over. Bhim Sharki soon followed when he was caught behind off Holder trying a scoop shot.
Several Nepali batsmen made decent starts but only Aarif Sheikh passed fifty, reaching 63 before falling to a stunning Pooran catch in the deep as his team was bowled out for 238.
Holder took 3-34 for the West Indies with Joseph, Paul and Akeal Hosein all picking up two wickets.
The West Indies have won their first two matches and moved above tournament hosts Zimbabwe on net run rate at the top of Group A. The two nations meet in their next match on Saturday.
Dutch condemn USA to third straight defeat
In Thursday's other game, the Netherlands bounced back from an opening loss to Zimbabwe by condemning the United States to a third straight defeat.
Shayan Jahangir top-scored with 71 as the USA scrapped their way to 211-8, but Dutch captain Scott Edwards led his team to a five-wicket victory with an unbeaten 67 after Teja Nidamanuru steadied the innings with his 58.
The USA are eliminated from contention while the Netherlands and Nepal face off Saturday in a contest that will likely determine which team advances to the Super Six stage.
The qualifiers continue on Friday with surprise Group B leaders Oman hunting a third successive win against Sri Lanka in Bulawayo, while Scotland play the United Arab Emirates.
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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