Sport

Afghanistan and Bangladesh eye early win to kickstart World Cup campaign

Published

3 years ago

October 7, 2023

Bangladesh and Afghanistan’s chances of reaching the final four of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 could well hinge on the outcome of their opening match today, Saturday October 7.

Only qualifiers Netherlands are ranked lower in the men’s ODI rankings than Bangladesh and Afghanistan, meaning both of these teams will need a string of upsets in order to reach the semi-finals.

But both teams have plenty of talent and are capable of troubling the world’s best, particularly in conditions that play to their strengths, which will be the case in some of the venues at this tournament.

Victory in Dharamsala for either side would boost those semi-final chances, but conditions may not favour the teams’ strengths. Afghanistan have three of the top ten in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Bowling Rankings, all of whom are spinners, while Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan remains one of the best in the world.

Yet history suggests that spin goes the distance in Dharamsala, with short boundaries and high altitude meaning that quick bowlers have had more wicket-taking impact at the ground.

Squads:

Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq.

Bangladesh squad: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Kumer Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto (vc), Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.

Key Players

Bangladesh – Shakib Al Hasan
Evergreen skipper Shakib Al Hasan continues to re-write the record books on the eve of his fifth World Cup. with the Bangladesh star still holding on to the No.1 ranking in the category for ODI all-rounders.

Shakib has previously appeared at the 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019 editions and amazingly held on to the No.1 ODI all-rounder ranking at the start of every tournament since his second appearance in 2011.

The veteran is also Bangladesh’s highest-ranked bowler at 17, while Mushfiqur Rahim has their best ranking for batters at 21.

Afghanistan – Rashid Khan
Afghanistan have two players inside the top three in the ODI rankings category, with former captain Mohammad Nabi leading the way as the No.2 ranked all-rounder.

Spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman is third in the ODI bowler rankings, while fellow tweaker Rashid Khan (fourth) is not far behind in this category and is widely regarded as one of the best white-ball players in the world game, thanks largely to his efforts in the shorter format, and will be key to his team’s chances.

Ariana Television Network official broadcasting partner

If you haven’t already tuned in to watch today’s match, there’s still time to do so.

Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bowl first.

Ariana Television will broadcast matches live, daily, so be sure not to miss out on this thrilling event.

Afghanistan’s fixtures are as follows?
• Afghanistan vs Bangladesh: Saturday, October 7, 2023, Dharamsala
• Afghanistan vs India: Wednesday, October 11, 2023, Delhi
• Afghanistan vs England: Saturday, October 14, 2023, Delhi
• Afghanistan vs New Zealand: Wednesday, October 18, 2023, Chennai
• Afghanistan vs Pakistan: Monday, October 23, 2023, Chennai
• Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka: Monday, October 30, 2023, Pune
• Afghanistan vs Netherlands: Friday, November 3, 2023, Lucknow
• Afghanistan vs Australia: Tuesday, November 7, 2023, Mumbai
• Afghanistan vs South Africa: Friday, November 10, 2023, Ahmedabad

Related Topics:#َAfghanistan #WorldCup Bangladesh featured

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First Test between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe ends in a draw

Published

5 hours ago

November 9, 2026

Ariana News

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.

Sport

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

Published

7 hours ago

November 9, 2026

Ariana News

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.

Sport

Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka by 106 runs in Under-19s Asia Cup

Published

7 hours ago

November 9, 2026

Ariana News

Afghanistan’s Under-19 cricket team secured a convincing 106-run victory over Sri Lanka in the ACC Under-19s Asia Cup in Oman on Monday, recording their third consecutive win in the tournament.

Asked to bat first after Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field, Afghanistan scored 275 runs in 49.5 overs.

Subhan Zakhail led the batting with an impressive 107 off 111 deliveries, while Abdiullah Nadarjan contributed 55 runs from 64 balls.

In reply, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 169 in 34.1 overs, falling 106 runs short of Afghanistan’s target.

Noor Ali Niazai was Afghanistan’s leading bowler, claiming four wickets. He had also delivered an impressive performance in the previous match against Malaysia, taking six wickets.

The victory marks Afghanistan’s third consecutive win in the tournament, following their earlier victories over Bangladesh and Malaysia.