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Van der Dussen steers South Africa to victory as Afghanistan exit World Cup

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Rassie van der Dussen hit an unbeaten 76 to lead South Africa to a comfortable five-wicket win over Afghanistan in their last World Cup group game on Friday as their opponents were eliminated from the semi-final race.

Chasing 245 for victory, Van der Dussen steered the Proteas home with 15 balls to spare in a tune-up for their semi-final against Australia next week, AFP reported.

Azmatullah Omarzai hit an unbeaten 97 to guide Afghanistan to 244 all out in a match where they needed an unlikely 438-run win to make the last four.

New Zealand look all set to meet hosts India in the other semi-final unless Pakistan pull off a huge win against England on Saturday.

Playing for pride, Afghanistan's spinners checked South Africa's strong start of 64-0 after Mujeeb Ur Rahman dismissed skipper Temba Bavuma for 23 and fellow spinner Mohammad Nabi trapped Quinton de Kock lbw on 41.

Bavuma's hamstring troubled him throughout the match while fielding and batting in a worrying sign ahead of their semi-final.

De Kock, who will quit one-day internationals when this World Cup is over, overtook New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra (565) to reclaim his top spot in the tournament batting chart with 591 runs including four centuries.

The Proteas put their chase back on track in a third-wicket stand of 50 but leg-spinner Rashid Khan broke through with the wicket of Aiden Markram for 25.

South Africa looked in trouble when Rashid bowled Heinrich Klaasen for 10 but Van der Dussen stood firm to build partnerships including an unbeaten 65-run stand with Andile Phehlukwayo, who hit the winning six in an unbeaten 39.

Earlier Afghanistan slipped to 116-6 before Azmatullah hit his ODI best to lift the team to a competitive total.

South Africa fast bowler Gerald Coetzee took four wickets while spinner Keshav Maharaj returned impressive figures of 2-25.

De Kock played a key part with his six wicketkeeping dismissals to equal a World Cup record of Australia's Adam Gilchrist (v Namibia - Potchefstroom, 2003) and Pakistan's Sarfaraz Ahmed (v South Africa - Auckland, 2015).

Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran started aggressively before Maharaj struck with his first ball to have Gurbaz caught for 25.

Coetzee sent back Ibrahim in the next over to check the batting surge and Afghanistan slipped from 41-0 to 45-3 when Maharaj had skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi caught behind for two.

Afghanistan lost three more wickets to be in danger of getting bowled out in less than their quota of 50 overs but Azmatullah stood firm to play out the innings.

Afghanistan, led by Hashmatullah Shahidi, ended a strong campaign after they beat defending champions England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands.

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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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