Sport

Champions Trophy: Williamson praised for propelling New Zealand to semi-final win

Published

3 weeks ago

March 6, 2025

(Last Updated On: )

New Zealand players Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra have showered Kane Williamson with praise, after the Kiwi legend reached yet another impressive mark in their semi-final win against South Africa on Wednesday.

New Zealand set a steep target in their ICC Champions Trophy semi-final – one that would prove to be too tricky to chase.

Their 362 runs became a new high mark for totals in Champions Trophy matches played in Lahore, moving past Australia’s score (356/5) from earlier in the tournament.

But in doing so, an even greater record was etched into the history books. Kiwi legend Kane Williamson became just the 16th player of all time to reach 19,000 international runs and the first New Zealander to do so.

That milestone came early in an innings that would go on to become his 48th century, across all formats, and his 15th in One-Day Internationals.

Williamson’s career as a run-scorer has been emphatic, reaching the mark of 19,000 international runs fourth-fastest of all time (440 innings), behind only Virat Kohli (399), Sachin Tendulkar (432) and Brian Lara (433).

The 34-year-old proved yet again he’s still at the peak of his powers, scoring 102 runs from 94 balls, highlighted by a mix of perfectly-timed traditional strokes and expansive new age shots that both proved equally as effective.

He came to the crease with the Kiwis at 48/1 in the eighth over and built a win-assisting partnership of 164 runs for the second wicket with Rachin Ravindra, who also made it to three figures, scoring 108 off 101 balls.

Ravindra relished the cool-headed help of Williamson, as the pair looked to take the game away from their opponents.

“It was nice to build a partnership first with Youngy (Will Young) and then Kane,” he said post-game.

“That is what helped me the most, being able to work with the guys in the team. Kane started accelerating so nicely.”

Captain Mitchell Santner, who also spoke after their win, continues to be in awe of Williamson’s feats, both as a batter and a leader.

“(Kane) keeps doing it,” Santner said post-game.

“That partnership (with Ravindra), that was massive for us and it looked like he might’ve been frustrated at times, but he was able to keep going and get through little periods where South Africa challenged us.

Celebrations will be short-lived for the Kiwis as they will now head back to Dubai, having played India at the same venue only a matter of days ago.

Fans across Afghanistan can tune in to Ariana Television on Sunday, March 9, from 1:30pm to watch the final.

Related Topics:#ChampionsTrophy #SemiFinal ArianaNews featured New Zealand Williamson

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AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers: Myanmar defeat Afghanistan 2-1

Published

16 hours ago

March 25, 2025

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: )

Afghanistan’s national football team went down 2-1 to Myanmar in their first match of the third round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers.

The match was held on Tuesday at the stadium in Yangon, the capital of Myanmar.

The only goal for Afghanistan was scored in the 14th minute by Omid Popalzay.

Afghanistan is in Group E along with Myanmar, Pakistan, and Syria.

The national team’s next match will be on June 10 against Syria. The venue is still to be decided.

Sport

Afghanistan eliminated from Asian Beach Soccer Championship

Published

19 hours ago

March 25, 2025

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: )

Afghanistan’s national beach soccer team was defeated 6-4 by Indonesia in their third and final match of the AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup 2025, resulting in their elimination from the tournament.

The match took place on Tuesday in Thailand.

In their first and second games, Afghanistan lost to the United Arab Emirates and Iran, respectively.

Sport

ACB name U19 team for Nepal tour and World Cup Asia Qualifiers

Published

20 hours ago

March 25, 2025

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: )

Afghanistan Cricket Board’s National Selection Committee this week finalized the Afghanistan National U19 team squad for the upcoming Youth ODI Series against Nepal, as well as the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifiers scheduled for next month in Nepal.

The selection process for the National U19 Team included rigorous training and preparation camps over the past five months.

The final phase of the team’s training concluded in Khost province, where the top 19 players engaged in skill development, fitness training, and multiple practice matches.

The squad is set to depart for Nepal later this month, where they will meet the home U19 side in three Youth ODIs from April 3 to 9 in Mulpani.

The team will then proceed to the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifiers, which will take place from April 13 to 19 in the same country.

The Future Stars are scheduled to face Oman, Hong Kong, the UAE, and the host nation Nepal in a round-robin format.

The team that finishes at the top of the table will qualify for the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2026 in Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Interim Chief Selector, Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil: “Qualification for the U19 World Cup is our ultimate goal. Keeping this in mind, we have prepared our squad through rigorous training and multiple preparation phases, which helped us finalize the 17-man squad.

“The boys have shown great enthusiasm and readiness to perform at the international level, and we are confident that they will do well in both events.”

Afghanistan Squad for the Nepal Youth ODI Series and the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifiers: Mehboob Khan (Captain & Wicket-Keeper), Khalid Ahmadzai (WK), Uzair Khan, Faisal Khan, Barakatullah Ibrahimzai, Nazeef Amiri, Aziz Miakhil, Wahidullah Zadran, Zaitullah Shaheen, Hafeez Zadran, Abdul Aziz Khan, Nasratullah Nooristani, Khatir Stanikzai, Salam Khan, Izat Noor Shirzad, Kamal Khan and Rohullah Arab.