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Oman shock Ireland in Cricket World Cup Qualifier

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Cricketing minnows Oman pulled off a massive upset by beating Ireland by five wickets in their opening World Cup Qualifier in Bulawayo on Monday, the Gulf sultanate’s first-ever victory over a Test nation in an ODI.

The other Group B match saw Sri Lanka crush the United Arab Emirates by 175 runs.

George Dockrell hit 91 not out and Harry Tector 52 as Ireland reached a respectable 281 for seven wickets in their allotted 50 overs, AFP reported.

But they hadn’t counted on the fighting qualities of an Omani side for whom opener Kashyap Prajapati hit 72, while skipper Zeeshan Maqsood pitched in with 59, Aqib Ilyas 52 and Mohammad Nadeem 46 not out.

A triumphant Maqsood said it was an “honor” to have beaten Ireland, eventually by five wickets with 11 balls remaining.

“If we continue like this, some more results will be in our favor. It was a collective and combined performance, which we need to beat a good side. We came here to go there (to India) and play.”

Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie called the defeat “very disappointing”.

“We felt like we had a pretty good score,” he said. “280 in a one-day game is pretty good. They were hard to bowl to at times. We felt right in the game.

“Oman’s win didn’t take us by surprise… it’s a long tournament. We need to get back into it pretty quickly.”

The second Group B game was much more academic, Sri Lanka racking up a massive 355 for six wickets off their 50 overs.

There were four half-centuries thanks to Kusal Mendis (78), Sadeera Samarawickrama (73), Pathum Nissanka (57) and Dimuth Karunaratne (52), while Charith Asalanka chipped in with 48 not out.

The UAE were in the chase for the first 30 overs, but the tail collapsed, the last five wickets falling for just 13 runs.

Wanindu Hasaranga claimed a first ODI five-wicket haul with 6-24 off eight overs as Sri Lanka bowled the UAE out for 180.

“We know he is going to do the job always,” Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said of Hasaranga.

“We’ve been playing well in the recent past. Playing qualifiers is always special but we don’t take pressure when we play cricket.”

The action continues Tuesday, with hosts Zimbabwe facing the Netherlands and Nepal taking on the United States in the second round of Group A matches at Harare.

Only two of the 10 teams taking part in the three-week qualifier will make the World Cup to be played in India in October and November.

Ariana Television Network will broadcast the matches daily live on TV and Website.

Pre-match shows will start at 11am (Kabul time), while the day’s match will start at 11.30am (Kabul time).

Matches are streamed live on Ariana Television websites simultaneously:

www.arianatelevision.com/live  and  www.arianatelevision.com/icc-live

CLICK HERE for the broadcast schedule on Ariana Television

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FIFA OKs creation of Afghanistan women’s refugee team

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FIFA has approved the creation of an Afghanistan women’s refugee team that will compete in matches overseen by the world governing body.

According to FIFA, the team — composed of female players of Afghan nationality who obtained refugee status abroad — would first operate under a one-year pilot phase, which will help the organization determine the long-term viability of the program, Reuters reported.

The FIFA Council must approve the team’s establishment. Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, called the approval a “landmark” moment, adding that “FIFA is committed to giving every girl the possibility to play football.”

FIFA regulations require teams to receive recognition by a national federation in order to compete. The Afghan Football Federation, however, has not acknowledged its women’s teams, in fact banning all women’s sports across the country.

Afghanistan has not had a women’s side compete in an official match since 2018.

 

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India suspends Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament

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India’s cricket board has suspended the money-spinning Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 tournament amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, Reuters reported on Friday.

Thursday’s IPL match was abandoned midway after fighting began in India’s border regions, but the cricket board attributed the disruption to a power failure at the stadium in the hill city of Dharamsala.

The world’s richest cricket tournament began its current season on March 22, and the final fixture was scheduled to be played on May 25, with matches being spread over 13 venues across the country.

The nuclear-armed neighbours have been locked in conflict since Wednesday, when India targeted multiple locations in Pakistan, claiming they were “terrorist infrastructure” in response to a deadly attack in Kashmir last month.

New Delhi named two Pakistani nationals as suspects and accused Islamabad of being involved in the attack, a charge Pakistan denied and sought an independent probe.

India’s army said Pakistan’s armed forces carried out “multiple attacks” using drones and other munitions across the entire western border on Thursday night and early Friday, a claim Pakistan denied.

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IPL 2025: Dharamsala match abandoned due to security concerns

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Thursday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings was called off mid-way through due to security reasons.

This was after the floodlights at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala were switched off and spectators asked to evacuate the stadium.

According to IANS, Arun Dhumal, IPL Chairman, said that the decision was taken as a precautionary measure, based on the red alert issued in Jammu.

Indian media reported the match was called off following air raid alerts in nearby areas, which forced a blackout in the hill town.

The Punjab side was 122 for 1 in 10.1 overs when the lights went out which at first was attributed to floodlight failure. But later the teams and the spectators were evacuated from the stadium for their security.

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