Sport
Hosts Zimbabwe win opening Cricket World Cup qualifier match
West Indies and Zimbabwe notched up victories in their respective opening Cricket World Cup Group A qualifiers over the United States and Nepal on Sunday.
Two-time world champions West Indies recovered from the early loss of openers Brandon King and Kyle Mayers as four players hit half-centuries as they made 297 all out off 49.3 overs, AFP reported.
Johnson Charles top scored with 66, while Jason Holder (56), Roston Chase (55) and skipper Shai Hope (54) all went past 50, Nicholas Pooran also chipping in with 43 runs.
Gajanand Singh hit an unbeaten 101 off 109 balls, with eight fours and two sixes, for the US team, but the chase proved too much and the West Indies ran out winners by 39 runs.
“We have to be disciplined and we have to stay calm,” Holder said, praising Singh for his effort with the bat.
“He played a really good knock to get his team close enough to our total.”
Earlier in the day, unbeaten centuries by skipper Craig Ervine and Sean Williams in a 164-run partnership guided Zimbabwe to an eight-wicket win over Nepal.
Chasing an imposing total of 290, Ervine hit a 128-ball 121 featuring 15 fours and a six, while Williams struck 102 off 70 balls as Zimbabwe reached 291 for the loss of two wickets with 35 balls remaining.
Openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh hit 99 and 66 respectively to help Nepal to 290 for eight wickets off their 50 overs at the Harare Sports Club.
Wellington Masakadza eventually claimed both Bhurtel and Sheikh’s wickets and Richard Ngarava took 4-43 off his nine overs.
In front of a large crowd, Zimbabwe lost Joylord Gumbie (25) and Wessly Madhevere (32) before Ervine and Williams took control of Nepal’s bowling attack.
“We didn’t start really well, dropped catches cost us but credit to the guys for pulling it back. We thought that 280/290 would be chaseable because the wicket looked very nice,” said Ervine.
“I think it’s well played today, rest day tomorrow and a quick turnaround when we play the Netherlands next on Tuesday.”
The action continues Monday, with Sri Lanka facing the United Arab Emirates and Ireland taking on Oman in Group B matches at Bulawayo.
Only two of the 10 teams taking part in the three-week qualifier will make the World Cup to be played in India in October and November.
Ariana Television Network will broadcast the matches daily live on TV and Website.
Pre-match shows will start at 11am (Kabul time), while the day’s match will start at 11.30am (Kabul time).
Matches are streamed live on Ariana Television websites simultaneously:
www.arianatelevision.com/live and www.arianatelevision.com/icc-live
CLICK HERE for the broadcast schedule on Ariana Television
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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