Afghanistan will start preparing immediately for the FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024 after sealing a historic win in the qualifiers in Thailand on Sunday.

Majid Mortezaei’s side led from start to finish in their 5-3 AFC Futsal Asian Cup Thailand 2024 Playoff 3 win against Kyrgyz Republic at the Bangkok Arena with the head coach saying they are determined to impress in September’s FIFA Futsal World Cup.

“While I am proud to have sealed qualification for the first time, it is important to remain focused as we have the FIFA World Cup to look forward to.

“We had a specific programme in place three months before the start of this tournament and we worked hard,” he said on Tuesday.

In their tournament debut, Afghanistan enjoyed a remarkable campaign, finishing second in Group D ahead of Bahrain and Kuwait before pushing Tajikistan all the way in the quarter-finals, with Mortezaei’s side ultimately suffering a 2-1 defeat after extra-time.

The disappointment of missing out on the semi-finals, however, was erased with a stunning 5-3 win in the first playoff against Iraq before Kyrgyz Republic’s challenge was easily dealt with to confirm their FIFA Futsal World Cup ticket.

“We have an average age of 22 in our team. We want to celebrate this happiness and start working on a programme which we will coordinate with our federation and CAFA for our preparation for Uzbekistan 2024,” said Mortezaei.

All-rounder Marcus Stoinis smashed 62 after he took a wicket on Tuesday to guide Lucknow Super Giants to an IPL win on the eve of Australia’s T20 World Cup team announcement.

Stoinis top-scored in Lucknow’s modest chase of 145 against Mumbai Indians as the home team achieved their target with four wickets and four balls to spare, AFP reported.

Lucknow moved to third spot in the 10-team table led by Rajasthan Royals. Five-time winners Mumbai remained ninth above wooden spooners Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Lucknow skipper KL Rahul fell for 28, hours after being snubbed by India’s selectors, who on Tuesday afternoon named the team for the T20 World Cup in June.

Mumbai skipper Hardik Pandya was named deputy to India captain Rohit Sharma for the World Cup in the West Indies and the U.S., but the star all-rounder fell for a duck and his team to their seventh loss in 10 matches.

“Sometimes you will be down, sometimes you will be up, just that you got to give it your all,” Pandya said. “Looks difficult but a lot of things that you can learn from this game.”

Birthday boy Rohit, who turned 37, Japsrit Bumrah, and Suryakumar Yadav are three of the four players from Mumbai to make the Indian team for the World Cup starting June 2, AFP reported.

Mumbai managed 144-7 courtesy Nehal Wadhera’s 46 and an unbeaten 18-ball 35 by Tim David after being invited to bat first.

Pandya said Wadhera will “play a lot of IPL and (represent) India eventually”.

Lucknow left-arm quick Mohsin Khan took two wickets after he struck first with the wicket of Rohit, who was caught out for four by Stoinis at extra cover.

Stoinis got the key wicket of Yadav for 10 and Mumbai were soon 27-4 when Naveen-ul-Haq got Pandya for a first-ball duck.

But Pandya returned to take two wickets with his pace bowling.

Stoinis turned up with the bat to raise his second fifty — he has also hit a century — of the season with hours left for the Australian selectors to announce the T20 team on Wednesday.

He fell to Afghanistan spinner Mohammad Nabi after his 45-ball knock laced with seven fours and two sixes, AFP reported.

Lucknow lost two more wickets to raise Mumbai’s hopes of a turnaround, but Nicholas Pooran steered the team home in the final over.

New Zealand Cricket said Tuesday it will go ahead with a Test match against Afghanistan in September, a month after Australia scrapped a Twenty20 series against the national team.

Cricket Australia postponed a three-match series due to take place in August at a neutral venue, saying the situation for women in Afghanistan was deteriorating.

It was the third time since 2021 that Australia have refused to play Afghanistan outside of international tournaments.

New Zealand said they will play a one-off Test against Afghanistan at a venue yet to be decided, AFP reported.

They also face Afghanistan in their opening T20 World Cup match in the West Indies in June.

New Zealand Cricket said the decision to go ahead had been taken after discussions at board level and with the players’ association.

“The consensus view was that a boycott in isolation would change nothing in Afghanistan,” said New Zealand Cricket spokesman Richard Boock.

“It would be more constructive to keep dialogue and participation channels open, while continuing to advocate strongly for change,”

Afghanistan usually play their “home” fixtures at neutral venues, mainly in the UAE.

“NZC strongly believes that cricket is a game for everyone and would like to see far greater support for the women’s game in Afghanistan in the short to medium term,” Boock said.