Sport
India reach T20 World Cup Super Eight with seven-wicket win over U.S.
The U.S., second in Group A with four points after suffering their first loss in three matches, will also ensure qualification for the next round if they beat Ireland on Friday.
India qualified for the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup with a seven-wicket win over the United States on Wednesday, with a fifty by Suryakumar Yadav and Arshdeep Singh's four-wicket haul helping them clinch their third win in a row, Reuters reported.
The U.S., second in Group A with four points after suffering their first loss in three matches, will also ensure qualification for the next round if they beat Ireland on Friday.
Put in to bat, the Americans struggled as Arshdeep (4-9) dismissed Shayan Jahangir and Andries Gous in the first over while Aaron Jones succumbed to pressure when he edged Hardik Pandya (2-14) to third man.
With the hosts struggling at 25-3, Steven Taylor (24) fought back, hitting two sixes before he played on to an Axar Patel delivery that clipped the bails.
Nitish Kumar was the Americans' top scorer with 27 but Arshdeep picked up his crucial wicket when Mohammed Siraj took a stunning catch near the boundary rope while jumping backwards.
Corey Anderson (15), Harmeet Singh (10) and Shadley van Schalkwyk (11 not out) did well towards the end to get the U.S. to a competitive 110-8.
India got their chase off to a shaky start as Virat Kohli was out to Saurabh Netravalkar (2-18) for a golden duck and captain Rohit Sharma (3) also fell to the Indian-born medium pacer, read the report.
Rishabh Pant (18) was bowled by Ali Khan and with boundaries hard to come by, Yadav (50 not out) and Shivam Dube (31 not out) rotated the strike to stabilise the innings.
Luck was on Yadav's side as Netravalkar dropped him on 22. The pair were further helped by the hosts taking more than a minute between overs three times, resulting in five penalty runs being awarded to India after the 15th over.
The pair built an unbeaten partnership of 72 runs and got India over the line with 10 balls to spare.
"(Yadav) showed he's got a different game and that's what you expect from experienced players. Partnership with Dube was crucial," captain Sharma said. "All the bowlers did their job well, particularly Arshdeep."
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India edge Pakistan in low-scoring nailbiter at T20 World Cup
Pakistan keep Super Eight hopes alive with seven-wicket win over Canada
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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