Sport
‘Baby Malinga’ leads Chennai to big IPL win over Mumbai
Sri Lanka’s Matheesha Pathirana led an inspired pace attack to help Chennai Super Kings hammer Mumbai Indians by six wickets in a clash of IPL heavyweights on Saturday.
Pathirana, who is called “Baby Malinga” for his slinging action similar to former Sri Lankan pace ace Lasith Malinga, returned figures of 3-15 to limit five-time winners Mumbai to 139-8 in Chennai, AFP reported.
New Zealand opener Devon Conway made 44 as M.S. Dhoni’s Chennai — four-time IPL champions — romped home with 14 balls to spare.
Dhoni praised Pathirana, saying, “People who don’t have any clean action, batsmen have a difficult time picking it. But his consistency, pace makes him special.”
Dhoni advised the youngster to stay away from Test cricket and concentrate on playing “only ICC tournaments with ODIs”.
The left-handed Conway put on a strong opening stand of 46 with Ruturaj Gaikwad and moved second in the batting chart with 458 runs behind Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Faf du Plessis (466).
The 41-year-old Dhoni hit the winning run at Chennai’s M.A. Chidambaram Stadium as fans, who are coming in numbers to cheer the superstar cricketer in what is expected to be his last IPL season as player, went wild.
Shivam Dube hit an unbeaten 26 off 18 balls as Chennai jumped a spot to second behind table-toppers Gujarat Titans in the 10-team table.
Chennai’s bowlers set up victory after they rattled the Mumbai top-order including the key wickets of Cameron Green, out for six after opening the batting, and skipper Rohit Sharma, dismissed for a second successive duck after coming at number three.
The opening pace duo of Deepak Chahar and Tushar Deshpande reduced Mumbai to 14-3 inside three overs before Nehal Wadhera (64) and Suryakumar Yadav (26) attempted to rebuild in their stand of 55.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja sent back Suryakumar and the 20-year-old Pathirana, who has played one T20 for Sri Lanka, bowled Wadhera with a yorker — his main weapon — to take the steam out of the Mumbai batting.
Pathirana with a unique celebration of his hands in front of his chest and eyes in meditation said, “I’m a die-hard fan of Cristiano Ronaldo and have modeled my celebration after him.”
Wickets kept tumbling as the dangerous Tim David fell for two off Deshpande and Pathirana got South African batsman Tristan Stubbs for 20.
The Afghanistan Football Federation announced on Tuesday that Afghanistan’s under-15 national football team has qualified for the FIFA U-15 World Cup, marking a significant achievement for the country’s youth football development.
According to the federation, the qualification comes as a result of sustained efforts and strategic planning aimed at strengthening grassroots football across Afghanistan.
The federation said the successful organization of under-14 competitions in different zones of the country helped pave the way for the U-15 national team to secure a place in the global tournament.
In a statement, the federation said the achievement also follows efforts by its leadership, particularly Mohammad Yousuf Kargar, who held discussions with officials of FIFA while emphasizing the development of youth football in Afghanistan.
The tournament, part of FIFA’s global talent development program, aims to nurture young players, improve technical ability, provide international exposure, and prepare the next generation of footballers.
The competition will take place in Azerbaijan from October 22 to 31, 2026, with under-15 teams from FIFA member nations set to participate.
Players born in 2011 and 2012 will be eligible for the tournament.
Matches will be played in an 8-versus-8 format designed to maximize ball involvement, develop individual skills, improve decision-making, and provide young players with valuable international competition experience.
Afghanistan’s participation is being seen as a major opportunity for the country’s emerging football talent to compete on the world stage and further elevate the profile of Afghan youth football.
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.
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