Sport
IPL: Mumbai Indians grab final playoff berth

After seven weeks of thrilling cricket the IPL 2023 is nearing its end with just four matches left – albeit four critical games.
Sunday saw plenty of drama on the field in the RCB v GT match, which resulted in a “win” for Mumbai Indians who managed to grab the final playoff berth.
This came after Royal Challengers Bangalore was knocked out of the IPL 2023 Playoffs race following its six-wicket loss to Gujarat Titans in the last league stage match.
RCB’s slip-up came after a record-breaking seventh IPL ton from Virat Kohli propelled the team to 197.
However, a superb counter-attacking knock from Shubman Gill set up the chase for the Titans who notched up 20 points from 14 matches.
Gujarat Titans will now face Chennai Super Kings in the Qualifier 1 on Tuesday while Lucknow Super Giants will take on MI in the Eliminator in Chennai on Wednesday.
In a post match interview on Sunday night, Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan said the Gujarat Titans will go into the playoffs “with positive energy”.
Discussing his own style of play within the team, he said: “My job in the team is to just keep it tight in the middle and not give away many runs.”
Gujarat Titans are top of the points table with 20 points, while Chennai Super Kings is in second spot with 17 points, Lucknow is in third, also with 17 points, and Mumbai Indians is at 16 points.
Fans in Afghanistan can tune in to Ariana Television to watch the playoffs or stream live from Ariana News platform.
Here’s the IPL 2022 Playoffs schedule:
QUALIFIER 1: Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings – May 23, Tuesday – 6:30 PM, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
ELIMINATOR: Lucknow Super Giants vs Mumbai Indians – May 24, Wednesday – 6:30 PM, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
QUALIFIER 2: Loser of Qualifier 1 vs winner of Eliminator – May 26, Friday – 6:30 PM, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
FINAL: Winner of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of Qualifier 2 – May 28, Sunday – 6:30 PM, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Sport
Patel and Mendis help Sunrisers beat Kings in Dhoni’s 400th T20
Fast bowler Harshal Patel grabbed four wickets and Kamindu Mendis showed his allround skill as Sunrisers Hyderabad upstaged Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in Chennai on Friday.

Patel grabbed 4-28 and was ably assisted by skipper Pat Cummins and Jaydev Unadkat — both finishing with identical figures of 2-21 — to dismiss the home team for a below-par 154 in 19.5 overs.
South African youngster Dewald Brevis was the top scorer for the Kings with a blistering 25-ball 42, cracking four sixes and a boundary on his debut for the franchise.
Skipper M.S. Dhoni failed to make his 400th T20 a memorable occasion, managing just six runs and coming out on the losing side.
Sunrisers achieved the target in 18.4 overs for the loss of five wickets with Ishan Kishan leading the way with a solid 34-ball 44 with five boundaries and a six.
Mendis struck an unbeaten 32 off 22 balls, adding 49 in an unbroken sixth wicket stand with Nitish Kumar Reddy who finished with a 13-ball 19 not out.
The victory lifted Sunrisers to eighth on the 10-team table topped by Gujrat Titans with 12 points in eight matches while five-time champions Kings are at the bottom with four points in nine.
Patel, declared man-of-the-match, attributed discipline as the key for his fine bowling.
“I figured out pretty early that hitting it on a good length around the stumps was important because it was hard to hit with the horizontal bat,” said Patel.
Dhoni blamed losing a cluster of wickets for the poor batting show.
“I think we kept losing wickets and another thing is in the first innings the wicket was slightly better,” said Dhoni. “A total of 157 wasn’t a justifiable score.”
Earlier, Chennai Super Kings were rocked by Sunrisers’s pacer Patel who ripped through the middle and lower-order batting.
The home team started on a wrong note when opener Shaik Rasheed was caught in the slip off the very first delivery of the match by fast bowler Mohammad Shami.
Seventee-year-old Ayush Mhatre was impressive in his 19-ball 30, which was studded with six boundaries, while Ravindra Jadeja managed 21 with a six and a boundary.
Jadeja’s dismissal brought Dhoni to the crease as the crowd roared to welcome their hero in his 400th T20 match but Dhoni’s stay lasted for just ten balls.
It was Brevis who assured Kings get past 150 with some lusty hitting.
Deepak Hooda also chipped in with a 21-ball 22 with a six and a boundary.
Sport
Sri Lanka A defeats Afghanistan A by 4 wickets in Abu Dhabi

Afghanistan A was defeated by Sri Lanka A with a margin of four wickets in the ongoing 50-over tri-nation cricket series.
The match was held on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Afghanistan had previously lost one match against Ireland and another against Sri Lanka in this series.
Batting first, the Afghan team set a target of 229 runs after losing eight wickets.
In response, Sri Lanka A chased down the target, losing six wickets.
Sport
Afghanistan qualify for U19 Cricket World Cup 2026

Afghanistan’s U19 cricket team has officially qualified for the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2026, following the final day washout in the Asia Qualifiers.
After securing three big wins in their first three games, today’s match against Nepal U19s was washed out. Thanks to their superior Net Run Rate, Afghanistan U19s topped the table and book their berth in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2026, which will take place early next year in Namibia and Zimbabwe.
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