Sport
Mustafizur helps Chennai down Bengaluru in IPL opener
Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman returned figures of 4-29 to set up a six-wicket win for defending champions Chennai Super Kings in the IPL opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday.
Hosts Chennai kept Bengaluru down to 173-6, a total their batsmen overhauled in 18.4 overs at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, AFP reported.
Shivam Dube, who hit 34, and fellow left-hander Ravindra Jadeja, who made 25, put on an unbeaten stand of 66 to steer the team home.
The 17th edition of the lucrative league began with a glitzy ceremony, with performances by Bollywood stars including India’s Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman.
Bengaluru skipper Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bat.
Old warhorse M.S. Dhoni had shocked his fans on the eve of the opener when he handed over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad, who said he got to know of the decision last week.
“I have always enjoyed it,” Gaikwad said of his captaincy debut in the IPL.
“Haven’t felt the additional pressure, right from the state side. Not even a single time I felt pressurised by anything. Obviously had ‘Mahi’ (Dhoni’s nickname) bhai with me.”
Gaikwad’s leadership witnessed early challenges when his opposite number Du Plessis smashed regular boundaries but left-arm quick Mustafizur led Chennai’s fightback with his IPL-best haul.
Mustafizur had Du Plessis caught out for 35 and Bengaluru slipped from 41-0 to 42-3 in the space of seven balls when Australia’s Glenn Maxwell was out for a first-ball duck off Deepak Chahar.
Mustafizur was named man of the match.
– ‘King’ Kohli returns –
Virat Kohli returned to competitive cricket after two months following a paternity break when he missed India’s 4-1 Test victory over England and started cautiously.
He made 21 off 20 balls including a six off spinner Maheesh Theekshana before his departure in another inspired spell by Mustafizur, who again struck twice in an over.
Kohli was caught in the deep after a relay catch between Ajinkya Rahane and Rachin Ravindra and soon Cameron Green departed with Bengaluru losing half their side inside 12 overs.
“We were 15-20 runs short on a pitch that wasn’t as bad as we played in the first ten overs,” Du Plessis said.
“We were always a little bit behind trying to get ahead of the game. They were always ahead of the game.”
Anuj Rawat, a wicketkeeper-batsman who hit 48, and Dinesh Karthik, 38 not out, steadied the ship and then took the attack to the opposition in their partnership of 95 in 50 balls.
In reply, Chennai’s batsmen including IPL debutant Ravindra, who hit a 15-ball 37, got starts but lost regular wickets.
Green struck with two key wickets including Rahane (27) and Daryl Mitchell (22) with his fast-medium bowling but Jadeja kept the chase going.
Dube, who came in as impact substitute in place of Mustafizur, and Jadeja ensured the team sailed through.
Organisers have released only the first two weeks of the IPL schedule so far because it clashes with India’s six-week-long general election. Last season the 10-team IPL lasted eight weeks.
Sport
Afghanistan, Uzbekistan set for friendly cricket clash in Khost
The match will be played during a cricket league, and is part of the Cricket Development Support Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the ACB and the Cricket Federation of Uzbekistan in December last year.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced that it will host Uzbekistan’s national cricket team for a one-off T20 international on July 10 at the Rahmat Wali Masroori Cricket Ground in Khost province.
According to the ACB, the match will be played during a cricket league, and is part of the Cricket Development Support Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the ACB and the Cricket Federation of Uzbekistan in December last year.
The friendly match is scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM, with an Afghan XI taking on the visiting Uzbek side. The game will be broadcast live across Afghanistan and internationally through various linear and digital platforms.
Quoted by the ACB, Chief Executive Officer Naseeb Khan said the board remains committed to supporting emerging cricket nations such as Uzbekistan and is ready to extend similar assistance to other countries seeking to develop the sport.
He noted that the ACB has already organized capacity-building programs and training workshops for members of the Cricket Federation of Uzbekistan, while several Uzbek fast bowlers also participated in the ACB’s specialized Fast Bowling Camp last year.
Khan added that Uzbekistan has consistently maintained a friendly policy toward Afghanistan and that the two countries have strengthened cooperation in healthcare, politics, and trade in recent years. He said closer collaboration in cricket development would further deepen relations between the two neighboring nations.
Sport
Serbian Dejan Dedovic appointed head coach of Afghanistan national futsal team
Dedovic will lead Afghanistan’s preparations for upcoming regional and international competitions, overseeing the team’s technical development and training programs.
The Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) has appointed Serbian coach Dejan Dedovic as the new head coach of the national futsal team on a two-year contract.
The agreement was signed during a ceremony attended by AFF officials, futsal committee members, technical staff, and sports journalists.
Dedovic will lead Afghanistan’s preparations for upcoming regional and international competitions, overseeing the team’s technical development and training programs.
The federation also announced several additions to the national team’s coaching staff. Iran’s Javad Asghari Moqaddam has been appointed technical director, while Morteza Mansour Samaei will serve as goalkeeping coach. Spain’s Uriel Masana has joined as assistant coach, Iran’s Sadeq Amani as fitness coach, and Brazil’s Joao Lira as team analyst.
In addition, the AFF renewed the contract of Mohammad Nasir Sedaqat as manager of the national futsal team.
The federation said it expects the newly assembled coaching staff to contribute to the continued development of Afghan futsal and strengthen the team’s competitiveness at the regional and international levels.
Sport
India clinch ODI series against Afghanistan
The India national cricket team defeated Afghanistan in the third and final One Day International (ODI), sealing the series with a 9-wicket victory and lifting the series trophy.
Afghanistan won the toss in the final match and opted to bat first.
Batting first, Afghanistan were bowled out for 218 in 44.2 overs, setting India a target of 219 runs.
Hashmatullah Shahidi played a superb innings, scoring 102 runs off 131 deliveries, anchoring the Afghan batting effort.
In reply, India made light work of the chase, reaching 219 for the loss of just one wicket in 28.4 overs, completing a dominant run chase.
India had already taken an unassailable lead in the series by winning the first ODI by 7 wickets and the second by 170 runs, before sealing a comprehensive 3–0 series sweep in the final match.
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