Sport
Du Plessis, Siraj help Bangalore down Punjab in IPL
An attacking 84 by Faf du Plessis and four wickets by Mohammed Siraj led Royal Challengers Bangalore to a comfortable 24-run win over Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League on Thursday.
Du Plessis and Virat Kohli, who made 59, put together an opening stand of 137 to lay the foundations of Bangalore’s 174-4 after being sent in to bat in the opening match of the day at Mohali, AFP reported.
Siraj then returned impressive figures of 4-21 and forced a run out to dismiss Punjab for 150 in 18.2 overs for Bangalore’s third victory in six matches.
Kohli stood in as captain for du Plessis, who made the team as a batsman due to a rib injury he picked in the previous match and was later substituted under the new impact player rule.
The South African had lived up to the designation with a 56-ball knock laced with five sixes. He tops the tournament’s batting chart with 343 runs, including four half-centuries.
Kohli has a total of 279 runs but Thursday’s knock lacked his usual aggression.
Harpreet Brar broke the marathon stand to have Kohli caught behind and then snared Glenn Maxwell, who attempted to hit out on his first ball but was caught for a duck.
Du Plessis departed in the next over and the Punjab bowlers came back well to keep down Bangalore’s score despite a solid foundation that had raised hopes of a 200-plus total.
Punjab lost wickets regularly in their reply and only Prabhsimran Singh, with a valiant 46 off 30 deliveries, and Jitesh Sharma’s late blitz of 41 represented any real fight.
Siraj got two breakthroughs at the start, including the dangerous England import Liam Livingstone for two, and leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga bowled Australia’s Matthew Short for eight.
Sam Curran, leading the Kings for the second straight game in the absence of injured skipper Shikhar Dhawan, was run out for 10.
Siraj came back to rattle the stumps twice and became the leading bowler in the tournament with 12 wickets.
Sport
Omar Zawak thrash Istiqlal Kabul 5-1 in ACL
Omar Zawak secured an emphatic 5-1 victory over Istiqlal Kabul in the 80th match of the sixth season of Afghanistan Champions League Roshan, delivering an impressive attacking performance.
The match was played in Kabul on Tuesday. Both teams struggled to find the back of the net in the first half, which ended goalless.
However, Omar Zawak stepped up their attacking efforts in the second half, scoring five goals to take control of the match. Istiqlal Kabul managed to score just once as Omar Zawak sealed a convincing 5-1 victory.
Omar Zawak will face Ariana Khost in their next match on November 12, while Istiqlal Kabul will take on Aino Mina Kandahar on the same day.
All matches of the sixth season of Afghanistan Champions League are broadcast live on Ariana Television.
Sport
First Test between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe ends in a draw
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
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.
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