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IPL: All-round Kolkata down Chennai to keep play-off hopes alive

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Fifties from skipper Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh led Kolkata Knight Riders to a six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings and stay alive in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.

Kolkata kept Chennai down to 144-6, a total they overhauled riding on a key stand of 99 between Rinku (54) and Rana (57 not out) in Chennai.

Spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine took two wickets each to set up victory as Kolkata jumped a spot to seventh in their attempt to finish the league stage on top four for a play-off berth.

Four-time winners Chennai remain second in the 10-team table led by holders Gujarat Titans and on course for the play-offs.

Kolkata looked in trouble at 33-3 after Chennai pace bowler Deepak Chahar’s third strike to send back Jason Roy, before the left-handed pair of Rinku and Rana guided the team home with nine balls to spare.

Rinku, who became an IPL sensation with his five sixes off the last five balls to conjure up a miracle win for Kolkata last month, struck his second fifty of the season before being run out.

Rana made most of a dropped catch on 18 to reach his fifty and stood firm to hit the winning runs.

Four-time winners Chennai started strongly but slipped from 61-1 to 72-5 in the space of 19 balls before Shivam Dube revived the innings with his unbeaten 48.

Dube kept up the fight in his 34-ball knock laced with three sixes but it was superstar and skipper M.S. Dhoni who brought the house down in his team’s last league game at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.

Dhoni, who many suspect is playing his final IPL, walked in to a deafening roar as he faced four balls including a wide and no-ball on which he was bowled but ended on two not out.

In the first match of the day, skipper Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell helped Royal Challengers Bangalore boost their play-off chances with a 112-run rout of Rajasthan Royals.

Du Plessis made 55 and Maxwell smashed a 33-ball 54 to guide Bangalore to 171-5 before their bowlers then skittled Rajasthan for 59 runs in Jaipur.

South African left-arm quick Wayne Parnell took three wickets, including Jos Buttler for a duck, as Rajasthan fell to the third-lowest total in Indian Premier League history.

The lowest IPL total was Bangalore’s 49 against Kolkata in 2017.

Bangalore, still searching for their first IPL title, moved up two places to fifth in the 10-team table, with the top four to make the play-offs.

“Really good for our net-rate,” said Du Plessis. “We batted first and assessed the conditions. We batted in the powerplay and thought 160 will be a good score.”

Inaugural champions Rajasthan dropped to sixth with a game left in the league stage after their heaviest defeat in the T20 tournament.

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Afghanistan, Uzbekistan set for friendly cricket clash in Khost

The match will be played during a cricket league, and is part of the Cricket Development Support Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the ACB and the Cricket Federation of Uzbekistan in December last year.

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The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced that it will host Uzbekistan’s national cricket team for a one-off T20 international on July 10 at the Rahmat Wali Masroori Cricket Ground in Khost province.

According to the ACB, the match will be played during a cricket league, and is part of the Cricket Development Support Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the ACB and the Cricket Federation of Uzbekistan in December last year.

The friendly match is scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM, with an Afghan XI taking on the visiting Uzbek side. The game will be broadcast live across Afghanistan and internationally through various linear and digital platforms.

Quoted by the ACB, Chief Executive Officer Naseeb Khan said the board remains committed to supporting emerging cricket nations such as Uzbekistan and is ready to extend similar assistance to other countries seeking to develop the sport.

He noted that the ACB has already organized capacity-building programs and training workshops for members of the Cricket Federation of Uzbekistan, while several Uzbek fast bowlers also participated in the ACB’s specialized Fast Bowling Camp last year.

Khan added that Uzbekistan has consistently maintained a friendly policy toward Afghanistan and that the two countries have strengthened cooperation in healthcare, politics, and trade in recent years. He said closer collaboration in cricket development would further deepen relations between the two neighboring nations.

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Serbian Dejan Dedovic appointed head coach of Afghanistan national futsal team

Dedovic will lead Afghanistan’s preparations for upcoming regional and international competitions, overseeing the team’s technical development and training programs.

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The Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) has appointed Serbian coach Dejan Dedovic as the new head coach of the national futsal team on a two-year contract.

The agreement was signed during a ceremony attended by AFF officials, futsal committee members, technical staff, and sports journalists.

Dedovic will lead Afghanistan’s preparations for upcoming regional and international competitions, overseeing the team’s technical development and training programs.

The federation also announced several additions to the national team’s coaching staff. Iran’s Javad Asghari Moqaddam has been appointed technical director, while Morteza Mansour Samaei will serve as goalkeeping coach. Spain’s Uriel Masana has joined as assistant coach, Iran’s Sadeq Amani as fitness coach, and Brazil’s Joao Lira as team analyst.

In addition, the AFF renewed the contract of Mohammad Nasir Sedaqat as manager of the national futsal team.

The federation said it expects the newly assembled coaching staff to contribute to the continued development of Afghan futsal and strengthen the team’s competitiveness at the regional and international levels.

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India clinch ODI series against Afghanistan

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The India national cricket team defeated Afghanistan in the third and final One Day International (ODI), sealing the series with a 9-wicket victory and lifting the series trophy.

Afghanistan won the toss in the final match and opted to bat first.

Batting first, Afghanistan were bowled out for 218 in 44.2 overs, setting India a target of 219 runs.

Hashmatullah Shahidi played a superb innings, scoring 102 runs off 131 deliveries, anchoring the Afghan batting effort.

In reply, India made light work of the chase, reaching 219 for the loss of just one wicket in 28.4 overs, completing a dominant run chase.

India had already taken an unassailable lead in the series by winning the first ODI by 7 wickets and the second by 170 runs, before sealing a comprehensive 3–0 series sweep in the final match.

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