Sport
ILT20’s maiden match ends in 73-run win for Dubai Capitals
The United Arab Emirates’ much-anticipated International League T20 kicked off on Friday night when Dubai Capitals took on Abu Dhabi Riders in the league’s inaugural match.
Dubai Capitals skipper Rovman Powell shone at the Dubai International Stadium cracking 48 runs and bagging two wickets to secure his team a 73-run win.
Powell’s mission to win the opener was well supported by opener Robin Uthappa (43) and quick knocks of 26 runs each from opener Joe Root and Sikandar Raza for an impressive total of 187 for 6. Powell (2 for 15) along with Akif Raja (2 for 20) and Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2 for 16) restricted Abu Dhabi Riders to 114 for 9 in 20 overs. Another highlight of Dubai Capitals’ splendid win was Root’s four catches, CrickTracker reported.
Dubai Capitals’ all-rounder Sikandar Raza said, “The mood in the camp is quite good after winning the match. It’s always nice to start the tournament well. Close to 190 was a really good total on that wicket in Dubai. Joe Root is a star and a class cricketer. He showed his class on that wicket today. He told me that the wicket is slightly two-paced. He had said that 160 would be a good total on this wicket.”
Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders’ captain Sunil Narine said: “The Dubai Capitals bowled well and we couldn’t string enough partnerships to chase down the total. We will work on that and hopefully, we will come to the party. I will try my level best to contribute to our team’s performance and hopefully, I can put up a better performance in the upcoming games.”
Player of the Match was Rovman Powell.
Tournament details
The tournament will be played in a 34-match format across the UAE’s world-class cricket facilities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah and will run through to February 12.
Franchise teams, comprising over 100 International and 24 UAE-based players, include Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Knight Riders Group), Desert Vipers (Lancer Capital), Dubai Capitals (GMR), Gulf Giants (Adani Sportsline), MI Emirates (Reliance Industries), and Sharjah Warriors (Capri Global).
The full squads are:
ABU DHABI KNIGHT RIDERS SQUAD
Sunil Narine (WI) (c), Charith Asalanka (SL), Ali Khan (USA), Marchant de Lange (SA), Dhananjaya de Silva (SL), Connor Esterhuizen (SA), Fahad Nawaz, Brandon Glover (NED), Akeal Hosein (WI), Colin Ingram (SA), Lahiru Kumara (SL), Kennar Lewis (WI), Treveen Mathew (SL), Matiullah Khan, Ravi Rampaul (WI), Raymon Reifer (WI), Andre Russell (WI), Sabir Ali, Paul Stirling (IRE), Zawar Farid.
DESERT VIPERS SQUAD
Colin Munro (NZ) (c), Ali Naseer, Gus Atkinson (ENG), Sam Billings (ENG), Dinesh Chandimal (SL), Sheldon Cottrell (WI), Tom Curran (ENG), Wanindu Hasaranga (SL), Alex Hales (ENG), Benny Howell (ENG), Jake Lintott (ENG), Adam Lyth (ENG), Tymal Mills (ENG), Ronak Panoly, Matheesha Pathirana (SL), Rohan Mustafa, Sherfane Rutherford (WI), Shiraz Ahmed, Ruben Trumpelmann (NAM), Mark Watt (SCO).
DUBAI CAPITALS SQUAD
Rovman Powell (WI) (c), Akif Raja, Fabian Allen (WI), Ravi Bopara (ENG), Chirag Suri, Niroshan Dickwella (SL), Jash Giyanani, Hazrat Luqman, Hazratullah Zazai (AFG), Chamika Karunaratne (SL), Fred Klaassen (NED), Dan Lawrence (ENG), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (AFG), George Munsey (SCO), Yusuf Pathan (IND), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (SL), Joe Root (ENG), Dasun Shanaka (SL), Sikandar Raza (ZIM), Isuru Udana (SL), Robin Uthappa (IND), Ollie White (NZ).
GULF GIANTS SQUAD
James Vince (ENG) (c), Aayan Afzal Khan, Tom Banton (ENG), Liam Dawson (ENG), Dominic Drakes (WI), Gerhard Erasmus (NAM), Richard Gleeson (ENG), Tom Helm (ENG), Shimron Hetmyer (WI), Chris Jordan (ENG), Chris Lynn (AUS), Jamie Overton (ENG), Ollie Pope (ENG), Qais Ahmad (AFG), Rehan Ahmed (ENG), Chundangapoyil Rizwan, Sanchit Sharma, Ashwant Valthapa, David Wiese (NAM).
MI EMIRATES SQUAD
Kieron Pollard (WI) (c), Vritya Aravind, Basil Hameed, Trent Boult (NZ), Dwayne Bravo (WI), McKenny Clarke (WI), Bas de Leede (NED), Fazalhaq Farooqi (AFG), Andre Fletcher (WI), Imran Tahir (SA), Tom Lammonby (ENG), Dan Mousley (ENG), Muhammad Waseem, Najibullah Zadran (AFG), Craig Overton (ENG), Samit Patel (ENG), Nicholas Pooran (WI), Will Smeed (ENG), Jordan Thompson (ENG), Lorcan Tucker (IRE), Brad Wheel (SCO), Zahir Khan (AFG), Zahoor Khan.
SHARJAH WARRIORS SQUAD
Moeen Ali (ENG) (c), Chris Benjamin (ENG) (wk), Bilal Khan (PAK), Joe Denly (ENG), Mark Deyal (WI), Jamal Todd (NZ), Junaid Siddique, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (ENG), Evin Lewis (WI), Dawid Malan (ENG), Karthik Meiyappan, Mohammad Nabi (AFG), Muhammad Jawadullah, Naveen-ul-Haq (AFG), Noor Ahmad (AFG), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (AFG) (wk), Alishan Sharafu, Marcus Stoinis (AUS), Paul Walter (ENG), Chris Woakes (ENG).
How to watch the tournament
Cricket fans in Afghanistan are once again able to watch this world-class tournament live and in the comfort of their own homes by tuning in to Ariana Television.
For the full broadcasting schedule CLICK HERE
Sport
Aino Mina and Khorasan secure 2-1 wins in Friday’s ACL matches
Aino Mina defeated Adalat Farah 2-1 in the 27th match of Afghanistan Champions League (ACL) in Kabul on Friday. In the other game of the day, Khorasan Faryab beat Jawanan Wahedi with the same result.
In the first game of the day, the first goal was scored by Abdul Ali Wahedi from Adalat Farah, before Ahmad Nabi Moqadas and Khalil Ahmad Badushah scored for Aino Mina.
In the 28th match of the tournament, Hayatullah Salimi netted twice for Khurasan. Farzad Barakzai scored Jawanan Wahedi’s only goal.
In Saturday’s matches, Sarsabz Yashlar will face Khadim at 1:00 p.m. and Sorkh Poshan Khafi will face Istiqlal Kabul at 3:30 p.m.
The matches are broadcast live on Ariana Television.
Sport
Abu Muslim and Attack Energy win in ACL matches
In the continuation of the Afghanistan Champions League, Abu Muslim Farah FC won the 25th match of this league on Thursday with a result of 2-1 against Mawj Sahil.
Hashmat Amiri scored one goal and was declared man of the match for Abu Muslim Farah FC.
In today’s twenty-sixth match, Attack Energy FC players defeated Maiwand FC 3-0.
Friday’s matches will see Aino Mina FC take on Adalat Farah FC at 1pm, while Khurasan Faryab FC play Jawanan Wahedi FC at 3:30pm.
The matches are broadcast live on Ariana Television.
Sport
Four Afghans included in Refugee Olympic Team for Paris 2024
The International Olympic Committee on Thursday confirmed the list of athletes who will form the IOC Refugee Olympic Team for the Paris 2024 games – of which four are from Afghanistan.
The four athletes are Amir Ansari, who will participate in the road cycling event; Arab Sibghatullah, in judo; Farzad Mansouri, in taekwondo; and Nigara Shaheen, in judo.
A total of 36 athletes from 11 different countries of origin will form the team. They will compete in 12 different sports: aquatics (swimming), athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoe (slalom and sprint), cycling (road), judo, shooting, taekwondo, weightlifting, and wrestling (freestyle and Greco-Roman).
IOC President Thomas Bach made the announcement during a ceremony at Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday (2 May). He said: “We welcome all of you with open arms. You are an enrichment to our Olympic Community, and to our societies.
“With your participation in the Olympic Games, you will demonstrate the human potential of resilience and excellence. This will send a message of hope to the more than 100 million displaced people around the world.”
The IOC Refugee Olympic Team is competing at the Olympic Games for the third time, after previous appearances at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
This year, its chef-de-mission will be Masomah Ali Zada, who competed as a member of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020.
Afghanistan’s athlete profiles:
Amir Ansari
Cycling Road
Amir was born in Iran but grew up in Afghanistan, before he fled in 2015. Since then, Amir has sought refuge in Sweden and trains with the Stockholm Cycling Club. He has participated in national and international championships in time trial and road race competitions as part of the Stockholm CK team and UCI Refugee Team.
Arab Sibghatullah
Judo
Sibghatullah’s journey in Judo began when he was just eight years old in Kunduz province, Afghanistan. His talent earned him a spot on the Afghanistan National Youth Judo team at the age of nineteen. When he left the country, he traveled overland through several countries, including Iran, Türkiye, Greece, Bosnia, and Slovenia, before finally arriving in Germany in November 2022.
Today, as a Refugee Athlete Scholarship-holder, Sibghatullah trains with the 1. Judo-Club in Mönchengladbach, Germany, and dedicates two days per week to training at a training camp in Köln.
His hard work and dedication paid off when he secured 7th place at the European Open Madrid in the summer of 2023. He firmly believes in the importance of consistency and never misses a morning in the gym.
Farzad Mansouri
Taekwondo
Farzad was born in Parwan, Afghanistan. Representing Afghanistan, he won a silver medal at the 2019 Asian Junior Taekwondo Championships in Amman and was the flagbearer for Afghanistan at the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Soon after the Games, Farzad left Afghanistan and today he trains alongside Great Britain (GB) Taekwondo athletes and continues to improve his English. His focus is on performing his best at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Nigara Shaheen
Female judoka
Born in Afghanistan, Nigara is a judoka who competes in the -70kg category. She took up judo when she was 11, living as a refugee in Peshawar, Pakistan, as practicing martial arts was a family tradition.
She has a master’s degree in international trade from the Ural Federal University in Ekaterinburg. Since September 2022, she has been living in Canada, where she studies and trains.
As a member of the IJF Refugee Team, she participated in the Düsseldorf Grand Slam in 2020 and the Kazan Grand Slam in 2021. She was a member of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020 in the individual and mixed team events.
Broadcasting rights
Ariana Television Network (ATN) will officially broadcast this year’s Olympic Games exclusively on Ariana Television.
The games will start on Friday, July 26 and run through to Sunday August 11.
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