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ICC World Cup 2023 trophy arrives in Kabul

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The International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 trophy arrived in Kabul on Thursday morning as part of its worldwide tour ahead of the tournament that starts in October.

The trophy will visit different venues around Kabul where cricket fans will be able to get a first-hand look at the iconic silverware.

The trophy began its tour in India, the host of the tournament, on June 27. Prior to coming to Afghanistan, it traveled to Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the United States, West Indies, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Bahrain, Italy, France and England.

Ten teams will fight for the trophy across 10 venues from October 5 to November 19, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting the tournament opener and the final.

The tournament will be played in the round-robin format with all teams playing against each other for a total of 45 league matches.

The top four teams will qualify for the semifinals, which will be held in Mumbai on November 15 and in Kolkata on November 16. The semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.

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Champions Trophy: Afghanistan’s skipper ‘confident’ ahead of high-stakes match against England

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Afghanistan skipper Hashmat Shahidi says Wednesday’s ICC Champions Trophy match against England will be a challenge but that the team “has worked hard to reach the level they are at” and are ready to play every game “with confidence”.

Speaking at a pre-match press conference, he said the team “will try their best to beat them again”. This was in reference to their win over England in 2023.

According to him, the team will try to put in a better effort with the bat in Wednesday’s match after their 107-run defeat against South Africa last week.

For Afghanistan and England this is a high-stakes match as both teams hope for their first win in this tournament.

With India and New Zealand having already booked their berths in the semi-finals from Group A, all eyes will now be on Group B. All four teams – Afghanistan, Australia, South Africa and England – are still in the fray.

Shahidi meanwhile welcomed recent comments by former cricketers and commentators lauding Afghanistan’s achievements but pointed out that even though some experts have said the team stands a good chance of securing a berth in the semifinals they still have to work hard.

Shahidi noted that it was the world’s top eight teams in the tournament and that it was a tough challenge for them. He said: “We have to give our 100%” on the day if we want to beat these teams.

In conclusion, the skipper said while good spin bowlers alone could not win a match, he is sure the team’s batters “will come back stronger” for Wednesday’s game.

Wednesday’s match in Lahore will start at 1:30pm and will be broadcast live and exclusively on Ariana Television. The pre-match show will start at 12:30pm.

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

“My job was clear — to control the middle overs, not take risks against the spinners and take on the pacers,” said Kohli.

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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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Rickelton’s century helps S.Africa to big win over Afghanistan

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South Africa opener Ryan Rickelton scored a maiden One-Day International century with a fluent 103 as his side eased to a 107-run win over Afghanistan in their opening Champions Trophy Group B fixture at the National Stadium in Karachi on Friday.

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat, amassing 315 for six in their 50 overs on a wicket with pace and bounce that was more akin to their home conditions on the Highveld than a sub-continent style pitch.

Afghanistan’s Rahmat Shah scored a fighting 90 but South Africa’s seamers stifled the run-rate and picked up regular wickets as their opponents battled to stay in the contest and fell well short as they were bowled out for 208 in 43.3 overs.

Australia and England clash in the second Group B fixture in Lahore on Saturday.

“I was a bit edgy, but to contribute to the team and set us up for a winning performance, I am chuffed with that,” Rickelton said at the post-match presentation.

“The wicket played alright, the bounce was a bit inconsistent and you had to work out how to adapt to score your runs.

“We could have pushed harder at certain stages of our innings, but everyone chipped in to make sure we had competitive total.”

South Africa’s innings was anchored by the left-hander, whose 103 came from 106 deliveries, but there were valuable contributions all the way through.

INNINGS BOOST

Captain Temba Bavuma scored 58 as he put on 129 with Rickelton for the second wicket before Rassie van der Dussen pitched in with a useful 52 and Aiden Markram was unbeaten on 52 from 36 deliveries to give the innings a boost at the end.

In contrast to South Africa, Afghanistan battled to find a way to stem the flow of runs, with 40-year-old off-spinner Mohammad Nabi the pick of their bowlers with 2-51 from 10 overs.

Afghanistan’s lone resistance came from middle-order batter Shah, who took the attack to the bowlers but ran out of partners as nobody around him could build an innings.

Kagiso Rabada finished with 3-36 in 8.3 overs and was well supported by Wiaan Mulder, who took 2-36 in his nine overs.

“The batting was not good enough today,” Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said. “The pitch was helping them in the second innings.

“We did well in the bowling but not so good in the first 20 overs (of Afghanistan’s batting innings). The toss was important, it was not a typical Karachi pitch.”

South Africa will next play Australia in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, while Afghanistan meet England in Lahore the following day in what is already a must-win game for them with the top two in the four-team group advancing to the semi-finals.

Cricket fans across the country can watch all Champions Trophy matches live on Ariana Television.

For updates, fixtures and schedules be sure to follow Ariana Television and Ariana News’ digital platforms.

 

(With inputs from Reuters)

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