Sport

Rashid promises Afghanistan will bounce back from England defeat

Published

2 years ago

October 23, 2022

Star spinner Rashid Khan said Afghanistan would bounce back from their opening loss to England at the Twenty20 World Cup in Perth on Saturday after having shown "promising talent" in the five-wicket defeat.

England bowled out Afghanistan for a paltry 112 but the Afghan spin force led by Rashid dragged the opposition chase to the 19th over by taking five wickets.

"First game for the guys. A different environment for all the youngsters in the team. First time playing in Australia and the conditions, facing the bowlers with speeds of 150 plus, so a great learning for them," the leg-spinner told AFP.

"But definitely we will come back. Some promising talent is there. We are going to be much improved in the upcoming games. Batting is the area we need to work on."

Afghanistan will next play New Zealand on Wednesday in Melbourne.

Afghanistan's batting fell flat with left-arm quick bowler Sam Curran becoming the first England bowler to take five wickets in a Twenty20 international.

Ben Stokes and Mark Wood, whose express pace exceeded 150kph at times, took two wickets each as Afghanistan were all out in 19.4 overs.

Rashid returned impressive figures of 1-17 in his four overs and was ably supported by fellow spinners Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman as they looked to restrict England, one of the tournament favorites.

Mujeeb got Dawid Malan with his mystery spin and off-spinner Nabi bowled Stokes for two before Liam Livingstone took England home with an unbeaten 29 off 21 balls.

"The way we bowled it showed anything between 150-160 will be a good total for us," Rashid said.

Afghanistan played two left-arm quick bowlers Fazalhaq Farooqui and Fareed Ahmed, but they rely on spin to win matches.

Rashid said he, Mujeeb and Nabi, would be able to benefit from their experience of playing in Australia's Big Bash League.

"It's just about the conditions you adjust yourself to. You understand what is the right length and right area to ball on that wicket," said Rashid.

"We have five to six years of experience in the Big Bash. So we have that in the mind and need to keep it simple."

Afghanistan stunned Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the Asia Cup T20 tournament in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year.

They missed out on the final spot after losing a last-over thriller to Pakistan and Rashid said Afghanistan could beat anyone on their day.

"You don't know with T20, what's going to happen to any team. It's not like someone is strong, someone is very weak. you have seen in the qualifiers that West Indies were knocked out," said Rashid.

"Anything can happen, it's just about having the positive mindset and having the self-belief that yes we are capable of beating any side."

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Afghanistan clinches ODI series victory against Zimbabwe

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2024

Ariana News

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.

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Ariana News

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.