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All you need to know about the Asia Cup 2023

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The Men’s Asia Cup is set to get underway on Wednesday, 30 August, with six teams poised to battle it out for the coveted title. Sri Lanka and Pakistan are co-hosting this year’s event.

Afghanistan is among the teams and has been placed in Group B along with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. India, Pakistan, and Nepal are in Group A.

This will be Nepal’s debut in the tournament after they qualified by winning the inaugural ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2023, where they overcame the United Arab Emirates in the final by seven wickets.

The tournament started in 1984 in the ODI format, although the recent editions have alternated between ODI and T20I formats. The 2023 edition will be played as an ODI (50-over) competition.

India is the most successful side in the tournament with seven titles (six ODI and one T20I) to their name. Sri Lanka comes in second place with six (five ODI and one T20I) titles. Pakistan has won the Asia Cup twice.

The Asia Cup 2023 will see the two groups comprising three teams playing in round-robin style within their group. Top two sides from each group will then qualify for the Super Four stage.

The Super Four will be another round-robin series of games and the top two sides from there will qualify for the final, to be played on 17 September in Colombo.

Thirteen games will be played in total between 30 August and 17 September. The group stage of the tournament will be played from 30 August to 5 September and three of these games will be played in Pakistan, while the rest will be held in Sri Lanka.

The Super Four stage will run from 6 to 15 September, with five encounters being played in Sri Lanka, and one in Pakistan. The final will be hosted at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 17 September.

The Asia Cup will be played across four venues in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Multan and Lahore will host the Pakistan leg of the tournament, whereas Kandy and Colombo will host the games in Sri Lanka.

Afghanistan goes into the tournament in the aftermath of a 3-0 series loss to Pakistan. However, the side can draw encouragement from their recent ODI performances. They displayed resilience in a 2-1 series loss to Sri Lanka in June and secured a 2-1 ODI series victory against Bangladesh in July. The team will bank on their world-class spinners to excel in the conducive sub-continent conditions.

Afghanistan’s squad:

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Abdul Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Suliman Safi, Fazalhaq Farooqi

For fans across the country, Ariana Television (ATN) will broadcast all the matches live each day starting at 1:30 pm on Wednesday. Live matches will be broadcast daily through to the final, which will take place in Colombo on September 17.

Afghanistan’s first match in the Group Stage will be on September 3 in Lahore, Pakistan, against Bangladesh. The team will then play Sri Lanka, also in Lahore, on September 5.

CLICK HERE for the broadcasting schedule

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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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