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Rashid cleared to play in ‘home fixture’ against Australia

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Australia’s chances of posting a massive total against Afghanistan in Friday’s T20 World Cup match have suffered a late blow after star leg-spinner Rashid Khan was cleared to play.

Rashid, the world’s No.1 T20 bowler, got the green light to play on Thursday after twisting his knee in Wednesday’s match against Sri Lanka.

Friday’s match at the Adelaide Oval is also almost a “home fixture” for Rashid who has been a committed Adelaide Strikers member in the BBL since 2017.

Afghanistan’s assistant coach, Rais Ahmadzai, said on Thursday that: “He‘s fine now. He is very good and he’s participating in the net session so he’s OK.”

“Everyone is okay and we want to finish the tournament with some positive things.

“It‘s not going to be an easy game for us to play against Australia in these conditions but they will be under pressure because they want to win,” he said.

Rashid, nor the Afghan team, has ever played a T20 international against Australia. But for the star bowler, he is no stranger to Australia’s players and according to Australian cricket commentators he has been at the center of every discussion about what the team needs to do to win.

“I reckon everyone would have played him a number of times over the years in either BBL or IPL, things like that,” Australian skipper Aaron Finch said.

“Each guy will have their own individual plans but I certainly wasn’t expecting him to miss. I’d be surprised if he did.”

A star performer for the Adelaide Strikers in Big Bash League, Rashid will be right at home on the spin friendly wicket, where he once claimed a hat-trick.

The 24-year-old has over the past six seasons of BBL become so beloved by fans in the South Australia capital that he was reported to have joked that Friday's match in Adelaide might effectively be a "home" fixture for his team.

"Whenever I have played at the ground, I have got so much love and support from the fans," Rashid told reporters prior to the start of the World Cup last month.

"Definitely there will be support for Afghanistan and we won't feel that we are playing in Australia, we will have that feeling that it's a kind of Afghanistan home game.

"Some other players in our team were discussing that, (saying) 'Rash, … will the Strikers fans be supporting you, or Australia?'.

"That's the kind of questions that were going on in the team," Australia’s cricket.com.au quoted him as saying.

Adelaide Strikers coach Jason Gillespie, who has forged a strong bond with Rashid has observed first-hand the reasons why the irrepressible leg spinner and entrepreneurial lower-order hitter has become such a local favorite.

"The reason he's been embraced is obviously his skills and what he does on the field, but it's also the way he goes about things, how open he is and how engaging he is with our fans and the wider community," Gillespie told cricket.com.au.

"He's always got time for people, and his genuine enthusiasm for playing for the Adelaide Strikers has really endeared him to everyone in South Australia.

"I'm very confident that when Afghanistan play they'll get some really strong support, not only through the Afghan community in South Australia but across the wider cricket community because Rashid's played such a big role for the Adelaide Strikers," he said.

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Afghanistan clinches ODI series victory against Zimbabwe

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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.

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Bangla Tigers lift Lanka T10 Super League title

Player of the match and player of the series was Titan’s skipper Dasun Shanaka.

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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.

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Afghanistan crush Zimbabwe by 232 runs in second ODI

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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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