Sport
ILT20’s maiden match ends in 73-run win for Dubai Capitals
The United Arab Emirates’ much-anticipated International League T20 kicked off on Friday night when Dubai Capitals took on Abu Dhabi Riders in the league’s inaugural match.
Dubai Capitals skipper Rovman Powell shone at the Dubai International Stadium cracking 48 runs and bagging two wickets to secure his team a 73-run win.
Powell’s mission to win the opener was well supported by opener Robin Uthappa (43) and quick knocks of 26 runs each from opener Joe Root and Sikandar Raza for an impressive total of 187 for 6. Powell (2 for 15) along with Akif Raja (2 for 20) and Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2 for 16) restricted Abu Dhabi Riders to 114 for 9 in 20 overs. Another highlight of Dubai Capitals’ splendid win was Root’s four catches, CrickTracker reported.
Dubai Capitals’ all-rounder Sikandar Raza said, “The mood in the camp is quite good after winning the match. It’s always nice to start the tournament well. Close to 190 was a really good total on that wicket in Dubai. Joe Root is a star and a class cricketer. He showed his class on that wicket today. He told me that the wicket is slightly two-paced. He had said that 160 would be a good total on this wicket.”
Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders’ captain Sunil Narine said: “The Dubai Capitals bowled well and we couldn’t string enough partnerships to chase down the total. We will work on that and hopefully, we will come to the party. I will try my level best to contribute to our team’s performance and hopefully, I can put up a better performance in the upcoming games.”
Player of the Match was Rovman Powell.
Tournament details
The tournament will be played in a 34-match format across the UAE’s world-class cricket facilities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah and will run through to February 12.
Franchise teams, comprising over 100 International and 24 UAE-based players, include Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Knight Riders Group), Desert Vipers (Lancer Capital), Dubai Capitals (GMR), Gulf Giants (Adani Sportsline), MI Emirates (Reliance Industries), and Sharjah Warriors (Capri Global).
The full squads are:
ABU DHABI KNIGHT RIDERS SQUAD
Sunil Narine (WI) (c), Charith Asalanka (SL), Ali Khan (USA), Marchant de Lange (SA), Dhananjaya de Silva (SL), Connor Esterhuizen (SA), Fahad Nawaz, Brandon Glover (NED), Akeal Hosein (WI), Colin Ingram (SA), Lahiru Kumara (SL), Kennar Lewis (WI), Treveen Mathew (SL), Matiullah Khan, Ravi Rampaul (WI), Raymon Reifer (WI), Andre Russell (WI), Sabir Ali, Paul Stirling (IRE), Zawar Farid.
DESERT VIPERS SQUAD
Colin Munro (NZ) (c), Ali Naseer, Gus Atkinson (ENG), Sam Billings (ENG), Dinesh Chandimal (SL), Sheldon Cottrell (WI), Tom Curran (ENG), Wanindu Hasaranga (SL), Alex Hales (ENG), Benny Howell (ENG), Jake Lintott (ENG), Adam Lyth (ENG), Tymal Mills (ENG), Ronak Panoly, Matheesha Pathirana (SL), Rohan Mustafa, Sherfane Rutherford (WI), Shiraz Ahmed, Ruben Trumpelmann (NAM), Mark Watt (SCO).
DUBAI CAPITALS SQUAD
Rovman Powell (WI) (c), Akif Raja, Fabian Allen (WI), Ravi Bopara (ENG), Chirag Suri, Niroshan Dickwella (SL), Jash Giyanani, Hazrat Luqman, Hazratullah Zazai (AFG), Chamika Karunaratne (SL), Fred Klaassen (NED), Dan Lawrence (ENG), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (AFG), George Munsey (SCO), Yusuf Pathan (IND), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (SL), Joe Root (ENG), Dasun Shanaka (SL), Sikandar Raza (ZIM), Isuru Udana (SL), Robin Uthappa (IND), Ollie White (NZ).
GULF GIANTS SQUAD
James Vince (ENG) (c), Aayan Afzal Khan, Tom Banton (ENG), Liam Dawson (ENG), Dominic Drakes (WI), Gerhard Erasmus (NAM), Richard Gleeson (ENG), Tom Helm (ENG), Shimron Hetmyer (WI), Chris Jordan (ENG), Chris Lynn (AUS), Jamie Overton (ENG), Ollie Pope (ENG), Qais Ahmad (AFG), Rehan Ahmed (ENG), Chundangapoyil Rizwan, Sanchit Sharma, Ashwant Valthapa, David Wiese (NAM).
MI EMIRATES SQUAD
Kieron Pollard (WI) (c), Vritya Aravind, Basil Hameed, Trent Boult (NZ), Dwayne Bravo (WI), McKenny Clarke (WI), Bas de Leede (NED), Fazalhaq Farooqi (AFG), Andre Fletcher (WI), Imran Tahir (SA), Tom Lammonby (ENG), Dan Mousley (ENG), Muhammad Waseem, Najibullah Zadran (AFG), Craig Overton (ENG), Samit Patel (ENG), Nicholas Pooran (WI), Will Smeed (ENG), Jordan Thompson (ENG), Lorcan Tucker (IRE), Brad Wheel (SCO), Zahir Khan (AFG), Zahoor Khan.
SHARJAH WARRIORS SQUAD
Moeen Ali (ENG) (c), Chris Benjamin (ENG) (wk), Bilal Khan (PAK), Joe Denly (ENG), Mark Deyal (WI), Jamal Todd (NZ), Junaid Siddique, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (ENG), Evin Lewis (WI), Dawid Malan (ENG), Karthik Meiyappan, Mohammad Nabi (AFG), Muhammad Jawadullah, Naveen-ul-Haq (AFG), Noor Ahmad (AFG), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (AFG) (wk), Alishan Sharafu, Marcus Stoinis (AUS), Paul Walter (ENG), Chris Woakes (ENG).
How to watch the tournament
Cricket fans in Afghanistan are once again able to watch this world-class tournament live and in the comfort of their own homes by tuning in to Ariana Television.
For the full broadcasting schedule CLICK HERE
Sport
Afghanistan name squad for maiden Test against New Zealand
Hashmatullah Shahidi will captain Afghanistan while other prominent names in the squad include Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, and Azmatullah Omarzai.
Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Friday announced the nation’s squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand starting 9 September in India’s Greater Noida.
Hashmatullah Shahidi will captain Afghanistan while other prominent names in the squad include Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, and Azmatullah Omarzai.
Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Karim Janat weren’t in consideration as they weren’t a part of the preliminary squad.
Rashid, Afghanistan’s talismanic all-rounder, wasn’t considered because he had been advised to refrain from long-format cricket for a year after his back operation.
All-rounder Gulbadin Naib, who was a part of the preliminary squad also didn’t make it to the final squad.
Shahidi has played eight Tests for Afghanistan, of which three have been as a captain.
Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Afsar Zazai, Ikram Alikhil, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shams Ur Rahman, Zia Ur Rahman Akbar, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Qais Ahmad, Khalil Ahmad, Nijat Masood
Recently, Afghanistan’s opponent New Zealand announced that they had appointed former Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath as their spin bowling coach for the next three Tests, whereas former India batting coach Vikram Rathour joined the camp for the one-off Afghanistan game.
Sport
Afghanistan’s futsal team secures bronze medal in five-a-side tournament
Afghanistan’s national futsal team lost 2-1 against the host team, Thailand, in their last match in the continental five-a-side tournament match on Friday.
The country’s futsal national team won the bronze medal by winning 2 out of 4 games played in the continental tournament.
This was the fourth and the last match for Afghanistan in the tournament.
In the tournament’s first game, Afghanistan beat Guatemala 5-4.
In the third match, Afghanistan thrashed New Zealand 5-1.
The tournament was hosted by Thailand, involving teams from Afghanistan, Guatemala, New Zealand, and Kuwait.
With just over a week to go before the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024, these matches are seen as crucial for the team, as they view them as important warm-up sessions ahead of the Uzbekistan World Cup.
For fans across Afghanistan, Ariana Television will again make sure you don’t miss out on the thrill of matches – which will get underway on Saturday 14 September.
Afghanistan will play their first match on Sunday 15 September when they come up against Angola.
Sport
Afghanistan’s Zadran to miss New Zealand test due to injury
The 19-year-old, who has taken nine wickets in his two tests, has been told to rest for three to four weeks in the hope of recovering before this month’s One-Day International series against South Africa, the board posted on X.
Afghanistan bowler Naveed Zadran will miss next week’s test match against New Zealand with a side strain injury, the Afghan cricket board said on Friday.
The 19-year-old, who has taken nine wickets in his two tests, has been told to rest for three to four weeks in the hope of recovering before this month’s One-Day International series against South Africa, the board posted on X.
Allrounder Rashid Khan has also been ruled out with a back injury.
Afghanistan, who play their home matches outside the country, will host New Zealand in a one-off test in India from Monday, before playing three one-day internationals against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates starting Sept. 18.
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