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India’s Pant boosts World Cup hopes with IPL batting blitz

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Rishabh Pant smashed an unbeaten 88 as he led Delhi Capitals to a tense IPL win over Gujarat Titans on Wednesday, boosting his chances of playing for India at the T20 World Cup.

Delhi posted 224-4 courtesy of a 113-run stand between Pant and fellow left-hander Axar Patel, who hit 66, after they slipped to 44-3 inside six overs at their home Arun Jaitley Stadium, AFP reported.

The hosts kept Gujarat down to 220-8 to win by four runs after David Miller’s 23-ball 55 and an unbeaten 21 off 11 deliveries by Rashid Khan.

Mukesh Kumar kept his nerve in the final over for Delhi’s fourth win in nine matches as they kept their playoff hopes alive in the T20 tournament.

Pant, 26, struck his third half-century of this season after 14 months away from top level cricket following a frightening car accident when his Mercedes rammed into a barrier, flipped and caught fire in December 2022.

Pant, a wicketkeeper-batsman, suffered multiple injuries and was rushed to hospital before being airlifted to Mumbai for further treatment and surgery.

“Everyday that I’m in the middle, I feel better,” man of the match Pant said after his 43-ball blitz studded with five fours and eight sixes.

“Every hour on the field matters, I love being on the field. I try to give it my 100 percent. I think the first six in the match gives me the confidence in a game.”

Pant has not only fired with the bat in the IPL but his sharp work behind the stumps prompted Delhi’s director of cricket Sourav Ganguly and coach Ricky Ponting to back the India star for making the national team for the World Cup in June, AFP reported.

– ‘Great fight’ –

Up and coming Australian batsman Jake Fraser-McGurk gave Delhi a strong start with his 14-ball 23 but medium-pace bowler Sandeep Warrier took three wickets including two in one over.

Patel, a bowling all-rounder promoted to number three in the batting, brought up his fifty with a boundary off Rashid before another Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad had him caught at long-on.

Pant reached his fifty in style with a six off Mohit Sharma and then hammered the medium-pace bowler in a 31-run 20th over when he finished with a six, four and three hits over the fence to raise the roof.

South African Tristan Stubbs watched the blitz from the other end after he smashed Sai Kishore in the 19th over, which went for 22 runs, for his unbeaten seven-ball 26.

In reply, Gujarat lost skipper Shubman Gill for six off Anrich Nortje before impact substitute Sai Sudarshan smashed 65 off 39 balls.

Gujarat lost regular wickets but the left-handed Miller smashed Nortje for three sixes and a four to give Delhi a scare before his departure in the 18th over.

Rashid kept up the fight till the end as Gujarat needed 19 off the final over and five on the last ball.

“I think we played some really good cricket, disappointing to lose in the end, but great character shown by everyone,” said Gill. “Great fight till the end and we never thought we were out of the game at any point.”

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Omar Zawak thrash Istiqlal Kabul 5-1 in ACL

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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.

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First Test between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe ends in a draw

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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.

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Portugal beat Afghanistan 2-0 in Dakar Youth Olympics futsal semi-finals

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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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