Sport
IPL: Raza, Shahrukh help Punjab Kings secure two wicket win over Lucknow

Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza’s half-century and some late boundaries from Shahrukh Khan led Punjab Kings to a two-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL on Saturday.
Raza made 57 in Punjab’s chase of 160 before departing in the 18th over, but Shahrukh hit an unbeaten 23 off 10 balls to steer the team home with three balls to spare.
Raza started slowly but soon found his groove as he smashed four fours and three sixes in his 41-ball knock before falling to Ravi Bishnoi’s leg-spin on a tough pitch, AFP reported.
Shahrukh top-edged a six off Mark Wood in the penultimate over and hit the winning boundary off Bishnoi as Punjab moved fourth in the 10-team table.
Sam Curran set up Punjab’s win with bowling figures of 3-31 as he stood in as captain following an injury to regular skipper Shikhar Dhawan.
Curran and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada shared five wickets between them to limit Lucknow to 159-8.
Lucknow skipper KL Rahul made 74 — his first half-century of the season — and took a stunning diving catch wide of mid-off but his efforts failed to inspire the Super Giants, who slipped to their second loss in five matches.
Punjab initially stuttered in their chase after losing their openers to debutant pace bowler Yudhvir Singh and then Australian Matthew Short for 34.
But Pakistan-born Raza kept calm to keep the Kings in the hunt despite losing regular wickets including Curran for six.
Sport
AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers: Myanmar defeat Afghanistan 2-1

Afghanistan’s national football team went down 2-1 to Myanmar in their first match of the third round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers.
The match was held on Tuesday at the stadium in Yangon, the capital of Myanmar.
The only goal for Afghanistan was scored in the 14th minute by Omid Popalzay.
Afghanistan is in Group E along with Myanmar, Pakistan, and Syria.
The national team’s next match will be on June 10 against Syria. The venue is still to be decided.
Sport
Afghanistan eliminated from Asian Beach Soccer Championship

Afghanistan’s national beach soccer team was defeated 6-4 by Indonesia in their third and final match of the AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup 2025, resulting in their elimination from the tournament.
The match took place on Tuesday in Thailand.
In their first and second games, Afghanistan lost to the United Arab Emirates and Iran, respectively.
Sport
ACB name U19 team for Nepal tour and World Cup Asia Qualifiers

Afghanistan Cricket Board’s National Selection Committee this week finalized the Afghanistan National U19 team squad for the upcoming Youth ODI Series against Nepal, as well as the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifiers scheduled for next month in Nepal.
The selection process for the National U19 Team included rigorous training and preparation camps over the past five months.
The final phase of the team’s training concluded in Khost province, where the top 19 players engaged in skill development, fitness training, and multiple practice matches.
The squad is set to depart for Nepal later this month, where they will meet the home U19 side in three Youth ODIs from April 3 to 9 in Mulpani.
The team will then proceed to the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifiers, which will take place from April 13 to 19 in the same country.
The Future Stars are scheduled to face Oman, Hong Kong, the UAE, and the host nation Nepal in a round-robin format.
The team that finishes at the top of the table will qualify for the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2026 in Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Interim Chief Selector, Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil: “Qualification for the U19 World Cup is our ultimate goal. Keeping this in mind, we have prepared our squad through rigorous training and multiple preparation phases, which helped us finalize the 17-man squad.
“The boys have shown great enthusiasm and readiness to perform at the international level, and we are confident that they will do well in both events.”
Afghanistan Squad for the Nepal Youth ODI Series and the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifiers: Mehboob Khan (Captain & Wicket-Keeper), Khalid Ahmadzai (WK), Uzair Khan, Faisal Khan, Barakatullah Ibrahimzai, Nazeef Amiri, Aziz Miakhil, Wahidullah Zadran, Zaitullah Shaheen, Hafeez Zadran, Abdul Aziz Khan, Nasratullah Nooristani, Khatir Stanikzai, Salam Khan, Izat Noor Shirzad, Kamal Khan and Rohullah Arab.
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