Sport
Afghanistan vs UAE 1st T20I: Afghanistan beat UAE by 5 wickets
Afghanistan made a positive start to the three-match T20 series against the United Arab Emirates as they eased to a five-wicket win at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Karim Janat struck 53 off 38 balls and shared a match-winning 67-run stand for the fourth wicket with Afsar Zazai (48) to chased down the target of 143 with five deliveries to spare.
UAE put up a good fight early in Afghanistan’s chase. Junaid Siddiqui grabbed two wickets in two overs and Zahoor Khan picked up another to leave Afghanistan 48-3 in 6.2 overs. Despite losing early wickets, Afghanistan were on track in terms of run rate, reaching 70-3 at the halfway stage of the chase.
Afsar carted Rohan Mustafa for 14 in his first over, including two sixes, to kickstart the second half of their innings. From there on, Afsar and Janat changed took control of the chase.
Afsar fell short of his half century after a brilliant catch by CP Rizwan at short mid-on off Muhammad Jawadullah.
That left Afghanistan needing 28 from 30 balls. Janat skied a catch to Mustafa off Zawar Farid but by then, he had taken his side to within five runs of victory.
Earlier, captain Rizwan top-scored for the UAE with a 41-ball 48, while Muhammad Waseem chipped in with 35-ball 33. The pair shared a 75-run stand for the second wicket.
Rashid pulled things back by grabbing two wickets in two balls. He trapped Waseem lbw one ball after the UAE batsman had swept the Afghanistan captain over deep square leg for six. Basil Hameed fell to similar dismissal the first ball he faced to leave the UAE at 98-3 in the 15th over.
Mustafa, with a 15-ball 22, and Aayan Khan (18) share a valuable 30-run stand to take their team’s total to 142-5.
The remaining two games also take place at Abu Dhabi on Saturday and Sunday.
Afghanistan’s cricket stars Rashid Khan and Azmatullah Omarzai have maintained their positions at the top of the latest ICC Men’s ODI rankings.
Rashid Khan remains the No. 1 ODI bowler in the world with 714 rating points.
Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed is second with 675 points, while South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj has moved up to third with 667 points.
New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner is fourth with 644 points, followed by India’s Kuldeep Yadav on 623.
Meanwhile, Azmatullah Omarzai continues to hold the top position in the ICC ODI all-rounder rankings with 337 points, giving Afghanistan two players at No. 1 in different ODI categories. Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe and Mehidy Hasan Miraz of Bangladesh follow him in the list.
Abu Muslim Farah beat Omar Zawak Herat 4-0 in the 30th match of the sixth season of the Roshan Afghanistan Champions League, delivering an impressive performance.
The match was played today (Wednesday) at the Afghanistan Football Federation Stadium.
Samiullah Naderi scored Abu Muslim Farah’s opening goal in the final minutes of the first half.
Abu Muslim Farah continued their attacking play in the second half, with Aman Sardari scoring the team’s second goal in the 69th minute with a spectacular header.
Omid Rajabi and Mirois Ghafouri then added two more goals to complete a 4-0 victory for Abu Muslim Farah.
Amanullah Sardari, captain of Abu Muslim Farah, was named Player of the Match against Omar Zawak Herat.
Abu Muslim Farah will face Ariana Khost in their next match on October 2, while Omar Zawak Herat will take on Istiqlal Kabul on the same day.
The sixth season of the Roshan Afghanistan Champions League is being broadcast live on Ariana Television.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board’s High Performance Center is set to launch a nationwide fast-bowling talent identification program, titled “Afghan Thunder,” across several provinces throughout October.
According to the ACB, the program will begin in Kunduz on October 4, with assessments continuing in Herat, Kandahar, Kabul, Khost, Paktia and Kunar before concluding in Nangarhar on October 27.
The board says eligible participants must be between 19 and 26 years old, at least 180 centimeters tall, hold a valid electronic National ID (e-Tazkira) and be capable of bowling at speeds of at least 140 kilometers per hour.
The assessment schedule is as follows: Kunduz on October 4–5, Herat on October 9–10, Kandahar on October 12, Kabul on October 14–15, Khost on October 19, Paktia on October 21, Kunar on October 25 and Nangarhar on October 27.
The ACB has encouraged eligible players who believe they have the potential to develop into high-level fast bowlers to take part in the Afghan Thunder Fast-Bowling Talent Hunt Program on the designated dates.
The board says the initiative aims to identify promising fast-bowling talent from across Afghanistan and provide talented players with a pathway into the country’s high-performance cricket system.
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