Sport
India beat Afghanistan in second T20 to clinch series
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube smashed half-centuries as India thrashed Afghanistan by six wickets in the second Twenty20 international in Indore on Sunday to clinch the three-match series.
Jaiswal, who hit 68 off 34 balls, returned to the team along with star batsman Virat Kohli after the two missed the opening win.
Jaiswal put on key partnerships including a 92-run stand with left-handed partner Dube, who hit an unbeaten 63, as India chased down their victory target with 26 balls to spare and take an unbeatable 2-0 lead, AFP reported.
Top-ranked India have been unbeaten at home for 15 consecutive T20 series.
Their bowlers set up victory with left-arm spinner Axar Patel leading the charge with figures of 2-17 to help dismiss Afghanistan for 172 despite Gulbadin Naib’s 57.
“The last two games, we’ve ticked a lot of boxes,” India skipper Rohit Sharma said after the win.
Rohit praised Jaiswal and Dube.
“They’ve had a great couple of years. Jaiswal has played Test cricket now and even T20. He has shown what he is capable of. He has the talent and has a great range of shots.
“Dube is a big guy, very powerful and can take on the spinners. That is his role and he has come out and played two crucial innings for us.”
Kohli, who played his first T20 for India since November 2022, made 29 in a partnership of 57 with Jaiswal after Rohit fell for a second successive duck.
Jaiswal took apart the opposition bowling after left-arm quick Fazalhaq Farooqi bowled Rohit and fellow fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq took down Kohli.
Jaiswal reached his fourth T20 half-ton for India and Dube, who starred in the team’s opening win, joined the charge to hit his second successive fifty.
Jaiswal hit five fours and six sixes before he fell to Karim Janat who struck twice in an over but Dube stood firm to steer the team home and gi past his previous T20 best of 60 not out.
Earlier Naib, a top-order batsman, took on the Indian bowling attack in his 35-ball knock laced with five fours and four sixes.
He made his fourth T20 half-century for Afghanistan but fell when Patel had him caught at short mid-wicket by Rohit.
Wickets kept tumbling, but Najibullah Zadran (23 off 21 balls), Janat (10-ball 20) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (21 off nine) boosted the Afghanistan total.
“Sometimes we play well in the powerplay, sometimes in the middle (overs), and sometimes in the death overs,” skipper Ibrahim Zadran said.
“We are going for the T20 World Cup, so we don’t want to repeat these.”
The last over from left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh, who ended with three wickets, brought four wickets including two run outs as Afghanistan were bowled out on the final ball.
Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi took two wickets.
The final match is on Wednesday in Bengaluru.
Afghanistan’s U19 cricket team has officially qualified for the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2026, following the final day washout in the Asia Qualifiers.
After securing three big wins in their first three games, today’s match against Nepal U19s was washed out. Thanks to their superior Net Run Rate, Afghanistan U19s topped the table and book their berth in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2026, which will take place early next year in Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Afghanistan’s national under-19 cricket team defeated the United Arab Emirates by 180 runs on Wednesday, maintaining their unbeaten streak in the group stage at the ICC Men’s U19 CWC Asia Qualifiers.
In this match, Afghanistan scored 359 runs for the loss of only 4 wickets at the end of 50 overs.
This marks Afghanistan’s third consecutive victory in the regional group stage.
Previously, they had defeated Hong Kong and Oman by 8 wickets each.
Afghanistan is set to face the host nation, Nepal, on Saturday (April 19) in what will be their final group-stage match.
The winner of that game is likely to secure a spot in the 2026 ICC Men’s U19 World Cup.
Sport
IPL 2025 Orange and Purple Cap leaderboards: Kuldeep moves up to No. 3
Here’s how things look on the run-scorers’ and wicket-takers’ tables after Sunday’s matches
Following Sunday’s double-header in this year’s Indian Premier League, a few batters have gained places in the Purple Cap leaderboard. No change was made in the Orange Cap leaderboard.
Orange Cap leaderboard
There is no change in the top three on the run-scorers’ table but a few batters have gained places. Nicholas Pooran is still the No. 1, having accumulated 349 runs in six innings.
This is followed by Gujarat Titans’ B Sai Sudharsan, who has 329 runs, and Mitchell Marsh, at No. 3 with 265 runs despite missing LSG’s last game.
Beyond the top three, 11 other batters have crossed the 200-mark.
Notably, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Virat Kohli who has advanced places to be fifth behind Shreyas Iyer (250 runs) after his 62 not out off 45 balls against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Sunday’s afternoon game.
He is two runs shy of Shreyas.
Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav’s 28-ball 40 in Mumbai Indians’ 12-run win over Delhi Capitals (DC) has taken his tally to 239.
Purple Cap leaderboard
Noor Ahmad and Shardul Thakur remain the top two in the list but there’s a new bowler at No. 3: Kuldeep Yadav.
Kuldeep was DC’s best bowler on Sunday, picking up two wickets and leaking just 5.75 an over as MI posted 205 for 5. He now has ten wickets and an overall economy rate of 5.60, better than the other bowlers with same number of wickets in the list.
Hardik Pandya, Prasidh Krishna, R Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed also stay on ten wickets.
Hardik couldn’t move up after going wicketless for the first time in this IPL, against DC.
Monday’s match
Today’s match, Monday April 14, will see Lucknow Super Giants take on Chennai Super Kings in Lucknow. This match is expected to deliver a thrilling battle for fans as MS Dhoni will lead the Chennai Super Kings team – much to the fans’ pleasure.
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Dhoni is however poised to hit a batting milestone, which could be reached today. Dhoni needs only 39 runs to reach a 4,000 T20 run tally in India. Commentators expect thunderous celebrations by Dhoni’s fans in the stadium if he hits the mark.
For fans across Afghanistan, this exciting match will be broadcast live and exclusively in the country by Ariana Television. Fans can tune in from 5:30 pm.
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