Sport
MI Emirates begin ILT20 campaign with clinical win against Warriors
MI Emirates began their ILT20 campaign with a 49-run victory against Sharjah Warriors in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, in what was the second match in the inaugural tournament.
Teams are only compelled by tournament regulations to pick two local players in a playing XI, but UAE opener Muhammad Waseem overshadowed his star-studded teammates with a 39-ball 71 that set up a total of 204 for 5, which proved ample.
Waseem hit five sixes and fell with five-and-a-half overs still remaining after Chris Woakes had taken the early wicket of Will Smeed (2) and then returned to have Andre Fletcher well caught behind by Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
Woakes conceded just 23 runs in his four overs, but none of his teammates were so economical: spinners Moeen Ali, Karthik Meiyappan, Mohammad Nabi and Joe Denly conceded 98 runs between them in eight overs.
Nicholas Pooran, one of three former West Indies white-ball captains in MI's middle order, was a useful foil, making 49 before holing out to Denly at deep midwicket, with Najibullah Zadran beaten for pace first ball, top-edging Junaid Siddique to Gurbaz for his third catch.
Warriors' reply never got going, with Afghanistan’s left-armer Fazalhaq Farooqi forcing Evin Lewis to drag a wild drive onto his stumps, before trapping Dawid Malan in front with the next delivery, which nipped in off the seam and thudded into his knee-roll.
According to the Cricketer, Sharjah never recovered from that double blow despite Gurbaz playing a fine hand for 43 in 31 balls. But Moeen ballooned to long-on for 15 and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (10) missed a hack off Imran Tahir – one of three wickets for the veteran leg-spinner, who also accounted for Denly and Nabi as the run-chase subsided, with MI easy winners in the end despite a cameo from Woakes (62).
How to watch the tournament
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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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