Sport
Gurbaz ton guides Afghanistan to seal ODI series over Bangladesh
Gurbaz, who hit seven sixes and five boundaries in his eighth ODI century, fell in the 39th over with 61 needed.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit a cracking century and Azmatullah Omarzai showed allround skills on Monday to give Afghanistan a five wicket victory over Bangladesh in their third ODI in Sharjah on Monday night.
Omarzai took four wickets before hitting an undefeated 77-ball 70 and opener Gurbaz hit a 120-ball 101 as Afghanistan chased down a 245-run target in 48.2 overs in Sharjah.
The victory gave Afghanistan a 2-1 win in the series in Sharjah. Afghanistan won the first match by 92 runs while Bangladesh took the second by 68 runs.
The series win is Afghanistan’s third successive this year, having also beaten Ireland (2-0) and South Africa (2-1) following their wins over England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in last year’s World Cup in India.
Gurbaz, who hit seven sixes and five boundaries in his eighth ODI century, fell in the 39th over with 61 needed.
Omarzai hit five sixes and three boundaries and added 58 runs with Mohammad Nabi (27-ball 34) to avoid any turnaround, hitting the winning six.
Speaking after the match, Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said he was proud of his team.
“I am very happy as a captain,” said Shahidi. “When we lost the toss we were a bit worried because it’s tough to bat second in Sharjah but our batters did very well.”
Bangladesh’s stand-in skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz praised Afghanistan.
“I think credit goes to Afghanistan the way they played in this series,” he said.
“Gurbaz and Omarzai did very well and we couldn’t get wickets to win the match.”
Omarzai was awarded the Player of the Match for his outstanding all-round performance and managed to grab the award for the first time in international cricket.
The Player of the Series award went to Mohammad Nabi for his heroic all-round performance in the series.
He scored 135 runs at an impressive average of 67.50, including a crucial half-century (84).
Afghanistan National Cricket Team will now be gearing up for their all-format tour to Zimbabwe where they will be meeting the hosts in three T20Is, starting on December 9 in Harare, followed by as many ODIs and a two-match test series in Bulawayo.
Afghanistan’s wheelchair basketball team earned its second consecutive victory at the 2025 IWBF Asia Oceania Championships on Monday, defeating India 93–26.
Earlier, Afghanistan had triumphed over New Zealand in their opening match.
The tournament features men’s teams from 14 countries, including Australia, China, Iran, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.
Afghanistan is set to play Iraq next on Tuesday.
Sport
Türkiye leads Riyadh 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games medal table
Uzbekistan sits in second place with a total of 16 medals – 4 gold, 8 silver and 4 bronze.
Türkiye is currently dominating the medal table at the 6th Islamic Solidarity Games – Riyadh 2025, with 36 in total, including 26 gold medals, 6 silvers and 4 bronze
Uzbekistan sits in second place with a total of 16 medals – 4 gold, 8 silver and 4 bronze.
Nigeria, Indonesia and Kazakhstan are in third, fourth and fifth place respectively.
Afghanistan has not yet clinched a medal but with 69 athletes representing the country, across 13 sports, spirits are high that some medals will be brought home with the team.
Afghanistan’s athletes at the Games will participate in in athletics (2), boxing (2), futsal (14), ju-jitsu (7), karate (3), muay thai (2), swimming (4), table tennis (2), taekwondo (5), volleyball (12), weightlifting (4), wrestling (9), and wushu (3).
This marks Afghanistan’s largest-ever team at the Islamic Solidarity Games, reflecting renewed national investment in sports development and international competition.
The 2025 edition of the Games will also mark the 25th anniversary of the Islamic Solidarity Sports Association, underscoring the event’s role in promoting unity, cultural exchange, and peace among Muslim nations.
Ariana Television Network (ATN) is Afghanistan’s official broadcaster for the Games, and fans across the country can tune in daily to watch this exciting tournament live.
The Islamic Solidarity Games 2025 officially got underway in Riyadh on Friday, November 7, and will close on November 21.
The games will feature approximately 3,500 athletes from 57 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation competing in 21 sports and 2 para sports. The event returns to Saudi Arabia after 20 years, as the inaugural games were held there in 2005.
The Morocco national futsal team defeated Afghanistan 4–0 in the ongoing Islamic Solidarity Games held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday.
This was Afghanistan’s third match in the tournament. Earlier, the Afghan team defeated Tajikistan and held Iran to a draw, showing strong form before facing Morocco.
Despite the loss, Afghanistan remains a competitive side in the regional futsal championship, demonstrating growing potential in the sport.
The Islamic Solidarity Games features more than 3,000 athletes from 57 Islamic countries competing across 19 sporting disciplines.
Ariana Television Network (ATN) holds the exclusive broadcasting rights in Afghanistan for the Riyadh 2025 Games.
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