Sport
IPL: Salt powers Delhi Capitals to thumping 7 wicket win against RCB
England’s Phil Salt hit a blazing 87 (45) to power Delhi Capitals to a thumping seven-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League on Saturday and ruin superstar Virat Kohli’s return to his home city.
Salt struck his second half-century in his debut IPL season to steer Delhi’s chase of 182 as the home team won with 20 balls to spare at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.
The wicketkeeper began with a 60-run opening stand alongside skipper David Warner, who hit 22 (14), and then put together 59 runs with Mitchell Marsh, who smashed 26 (17).
Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood claimed 1-29 from his three overs, including the dismissal of Warner in the Powerplay, AFP reported.
“It’s the first time a lot of people would have seen me bat. Lot of Indian fans probably watching me for the first time if they don’t watch other competitions,” Salt, who has represented England in 30 white-ball matches since 2021, told reporters after his player of the match performance.
“I feel like my goal ever since the auction was come here and win games, challenge myself among the best in the world, because realistically we know this is the best domestic league in the world.”
Salt and Warner got into a mid-pitch exchange with opposition pace bowler Mohammed Siraj, but the verbal duel only spurred Salt to finish with six sixes.
The batting effort trumped Virat Kohli’s 55 (46) and an unbeaten 54 (29) by Mahipal Lomror which helped Bangalore to 4-181 after electing to bat first.
“Satisfied with the knock. Obviously there was a little bit of needle,” Salt said on his exchange with Siraj.
“Their boys were up when we were in Bangalore for the last game, so a lot of the pre-match chat was getting our chests out and crossing the line and ready to take it to them.”
Leg-spinner Karn Sharma bowled Salt before Rilee Rossouw hit an unbeaten 35 (22) and sealed the match with a six.
Delhi, who started the season with five losses, moved up from the bottom to ninth in the IPL table with slim chances of making the top four for a place in the play-offs.
Delhi’s South African import Anrich Nortje missed the match after he flew back home late Friday due to a “personal emergency”.
The spotlight remained on the Delhi-born Kohli as the former captain set foot on the ground in front of a capacity crowd, mostly wearing the star’s Bangalore jersey.
His every run was cheered and the superstar, who was playing his first game after an ugly spat with Lucknow mentor Gautam Gambhir, obliged the fans with his fifth half-century of the season.
In-form skipper Faf du Plessis, who consolidated his top spot in the batting chart with 511 runs, put on an 82-run opening stand with Kohli.
But it was Lomror who set the Bangalore innings on fire with his blitz after Marsh sent back du Plessis, for 45, and Glenn Maxwell, for a first-ball duck.
Sport
Ghazanfar replaces injured Mujeeb in IPL’s KKR squad
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have signed young Afghanistan spinner Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar as a replacement for the injured Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Mujeeb has been recovering from a right phalanx sprain in his hand, which he sustained in February 2024 during Afghanistan’s ODI series against Sri Lanka. However, he was also ruled out of the three-match T20I series between the two sides. Since then, the Afghanistan spinner hasn’t played cricket at any level.
Mujeeb was roped in by KKR for INR 2 crores (approx. $240,000) during the 2024 mini-auction. He also missed the opening game against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The 16-year-old Ghazanfar has featured for Afghanistan in two ODIs. The youngster has played three T20s and six List A games and has 5 and 4 wickets respectively against his name He joins KKR for his base price of INR 20 lakhs (approx. $24,000).
Two-time champions KKR will play their first away game in the 2024 edition against RCB at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday, March 29.
Sport
FIFA World Cup Qualifier: Afghanistan beat India 2-1
In a thrilling match that doubled as a qualifier for both the FIFA World Cup and the 2027 Asian Nations Cup, Afghanistan’s national football team secured a 2-1 victory over India.
The contest saw India taking an early lead, ending the first half ahead 1-0.
However, Afghanistan’s resolve shone in the second half, with Rahmat Akbari leveling the score at 1-1 in the 69th minute.
The decisive moment came when Sharif Mohammad converted a penalty in the 88th minute, propelling Afghanistan to a late lead.
The two teams had previously ended the first leg of their matchup in a goalless draw.
Looking ahead, Afghanistan is scheduled to face Qatar and Kuwait in upcoming matches on June 6 and 11, respectively.
Sport
IPL: RCB register first win against Punjab Kings
Virat Kohli’s authoritative 77(49) helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru register their first win of the TATA IPL 2024 as they beat Punjab Kings by 4 wickets with four balls remaining at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday.
Kohli made PBKS pay with some delightful strokeplay to set the platform.
Dinesh Karthik (28 off 10) and Impact Player Mahipal Lomror (17 off 8) then provided the final flourish, stitching an unbeaten 48-run stand off 18 balls, to help RCB chase down 177 in the final over.
Earlier, a disciplined bowling display had helped the home side restrict PBKS to 176/6.
Earlier, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to field.
Tuesday, March 26, will see Chennai Super Kings take on Gujarat Titans.
In this highly anticipated rematch of last season’s final, defending champions Chennai lock horns with runners-up Gujarat in what promises to be a scintillating encounter at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
IPL fans in Afghanistan can tune in to Ariana Television at 6.30pm Tuesday, or stream live at www.arianatelevision.com, to watch this exciting match.
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