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Stokes the hero as England claim second T20 World Cup title in style

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An unbeaten half-century from Ben Stokes and brilliant performances with the ball from Sam Curran and Adil Rashid helped England to a second ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title with an impressive five-wicket victory over Pakistan in Melbourne on Sunday.

Stokes used all his experience to score 52 from 49 balls just when his team needed it most as England chased down Pakistan’s meager total of 137/8 with six deliveries remaining at the MCG.

Unsung heroes shine with the ball for England

Seamer Sam Curran (3/12) and Adil Rashid (2/22) were near unplayable for much of Pakistan’s innings, with the duo picking up five valuable wickets between them and conceding just one boundary.

Rashid picked up the massive wicket of Babar Azam for 32 just as it looked like the skipper was about to accelerate and Pakistan’s batting innings never reached great heights from that point on.

Shan Masood (38) and Shadab Khan (20) contributed some handy late runs, but their total of 137/8 was never going to be enough with England’s strong batting line-up.

Afridi injury turns to match England’s way

While England were marginally ahead when requiring 41 from the final five overs, the game turned even more their way when Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi was forced to limp off after the first delivery of his third over.

Afridi had given Pakistan some life when he produced a superb yorker to send the dangerous Alex Hales packing for one and fellow quicks Haris Rauf (2/23) and Naseem Shah (0/30) were working off his energy and bowling with great pace.

Afridi was brought back for his second spell and it could have been pivotal with Stokes and Moeen Ali (19) needing to score at more than eight runs per over to clinch victory.

But Afridi was still feeling the effects of landing awkwardly following a catch earlier in England’s innings and limped from the field, leaving Iftikhar Ahmed to bowl the reminder of his over.

Stokes takes advantage of unfortunate situation

The experienced left-hander seized on Afridi’s injury quickly as he smashed a four and a six off Iftikhar’s final two deliveries to put England firmly in the driver’s seat.

It quickly turned from a tough situation to an easy one, with Moeen joining in on the act with consecutive boundaries off Mohammad Wasim to put the victory target within sight.

And while Moeen lost his wicket late, Stokes was there at the end with the match-winning half-century ensuring England claimed a thrilling five-wicket victory and a second T20 World Cup title.

Player of the Match: Sam Curran

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Omar Zawak thrash Istiqlal Kabul 5-1 in ACL

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Omar Zawak secured an emphatic 5-1 victory over Istiqlal Kabul in the 80th match of the sixth season of Afghanistan Champions League Roshan, delivering an impressive attacking performance.

The match was played in Kabul on Tuesday. Both teams struggled to find the back of the net in the first half, which ended goalless.

However, Omar Zawak stepped up their attacking efforts in the second half, scoring five goals to take control of the match. Istiqlal Kabul managed to score just once as Omar Zawak sealed a convincing 5-1 victory.

Omar Zawak will face Ariana Khost in their next match on November 12, while Istiqlal Kabul will take on Aino Mina Kandahar on the same day.

All matches of the sixth season of Afghanistan Champions League are broadcast live on Ariana Television.

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First Test between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe ends in a draw

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Zimbabwe produced a remarkable batting display to secure a draw against Afghanistan in the first Test in Sharjah, with Craig Ervine and Wessly Madhevere scoring unbeaten centuries on the final day.

Resuming the fifth and final day at 164/3, Zimbabwe finished on 523/5 in their second innings, following their first-innings total of 504. This marked the first time in Test cricket history that a team has scored more than 500 runs in both innings of a match.

Craig Ervine remained unbeaten on 206, while Madhevere scored 100 not out, as the pair frustrated Afghanistan’s bowlers throughout the day.

Ervine, aged 41 years and 82 days, became the third-oldest player to score a double century in Test cricket.

Afghanistan had posted 514 in their first innings. Afghanistan needed early wickets to put pressure on the hosts, but Zimbabwe’s batters showed patience and discipline on a pitch offering little assistance to the bowlers.

Brian Bennett scored a half-century before Mohammad Saleem dismissed him, while debutant Antum Naqvi contributed 61 runs. Naqvi and Ervine shared a 140-run partnership before Abdul Malik broke the stand.

However, Madhevere joined Ervine and the pair put together an unbeaten 208-run partnership for the sixth wicket, the highest for that wicket in Zimbabwe’s Test history. Madhevere also registered his maiden Test century during the partnership.

The result leaves the two sides level heading into the second and final Test, which is scheduled to begin in Sharjah on November 13.

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Portugal beat Afghanistan 2-0 in Dakar Youth Olympics futsal semi-finals

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Afghanistan’s Under-18 futsal team missed out on a place in the gold medal match at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Portugal in the semi-finals on Monday.

Portugal took the lead through Joao Carvalho, who capitalised on a goalkeeping error by Afghanistan’s Ahmad Esmaeili to score into an unguarded net from inside his own half.

Diego Ferreira doubled Portugal’s advantage before half-time, putting the European side firmly in control of the match.

Afghanistan pushed hard to get back into the game in the second half, creating several opportunities to reduce the deficit. However, they were unable to find the net, with Portugal goalkeeper Bernardo Borges making several important saves.

The victory sends Portugal into the gold medal match, while Afghanistan will now compete for the bronze medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

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