Sport
Narine blitz powers Kolkata to 272 and third IPL win
West Indies' Sunil Narine smashed 85 to lead Kolkata Knight Riders to the second-best ever IPL total of 272-7 in a crushing 106-run victory over Delhi Capitals on Wednesday.
The mammoth score came just a week after Sunrisers Hyderabad posted the highest ever innings total of 277-3.
Kolkata, IPL champions in 2012 and 2014, remain unbeaten from three matches this season after they bowled out Delhi for 166 in 17.2 overs to top the 10-team table.
Delhi skipper Rishabh Pant made 55 off 25 balls, his second successive fifty, and Tristan Stubbs hit 54 but the rest of the batting flopped, AFP reported.
The venue was Delhi's adopted home ground due to the upcoming general elections in India but Narine and Kolkata made it their own.
"Cricket is all about batting, so to contribute with the bat is pleasing but I also enjoy my bowling," Narine, an all-rounder more renowned for his bowling who returned figures of 1-29 with his spin, said after being named man of the match.
"On a good wicket like that, we bowled well and were on the money, so a total team effort from us tonight."
Narine, opening the batting, tore into the Delhi attack as he hit seven fours and seven sixes in his 39-ball blitz for his highest T20 score in his 501st match.
Narine, 35, smashed Delhi seamer Ishant Sharma for 26 runs in an over as he raised his fifty in 21 balls and put on 104 runs with teenage debutant Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who hit 54.
There was no respite for the bowlers as Narine's departure off Mitchell Marsh in the 13th over brought in Andre Russell for another punishing knock, reported AFP.
Russell hammered 41 off 19 balls and then Rinku Singh threatened to help KKR surpass Hyderabad's record total with his eight-ball 26.
South African quick Anrich Nortje sent back Rinku at the end of the 19th over and Ishant bowled Russell with a toe-crushing yorker at the start of the 20th as Kolkata fell just short of the record.
The innings featured 18 sixes and 22 fours.
Delhi were never in the chase after they lost four wickets, including Marsh out for a duck off fellow Australian Mitchell Starc, inside five overs.
It was the first wicket of the season for left-arm quick Starc, who became the most expensive buy in IPL history after Kolkata shelled out $2.98 million for him in the auction.
Starc also bowled David Warner for 18 and said it was "nice to have them (Marsh and Warner) in the pocket".
Pant and Stubbs put on 93 runs for the fifth wicket before both fell to spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who took three wickets.
Medium-pacer and impact substitute Vaibhav Arora also claimed three wickets.
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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