Sport
Naveen, Najibullah and Qais give Afghanistan 2-1 series win against UAE
A four-wicket haul from Naveen-ul-Haq and a three-for from Qais Ahmad consigned United Arab Emirates to a series defeat in Sharjah as Afghanistan won by four wickets to clinch the T20I trophy 2-1.
Naveen’s three wickets in the first-innings powerplay had UAE reeling at 38 for 4 by the sixth over, after which Qais stepped up to claim the next three scalps, including UAE’s top scorer Muhammad Waseem (27). UAE’s score of 75 for 7 soon became 107 for 9 when Naveen returned to pick up his fourth to finish with 4 for 20, but an unbeaten 19-run tenth-wicket partnership between Muhammad Jawadullah and Junaid Siddique took the hosts to 126. Qais finished with 3 for 24 while Azmatullah Omarzai picked up two, ESPNcricinfo.com reported.
Afghanistan’s chase was comfortable if not clinical. Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 14-ball 20 provided the early impetus, and the pair of Hazratullah Zazai (36) and Ibrahim Zadran (23) scored slowly but kept the chase moving. The Zazai-Ibrahim stand of 37 for the second wicket took Afghanistan past the halfway stage of the target, but a middle-order collapse – where they slid from 85 for 2 to 103 for 6 – gave UAE an opening.
However, with 24 needed in 18 balls, Najibullah Zadran turned up the tempo again, smacking two fours in the 18th over to bring the rate under six. With 13 needed off the last two overs, he finished the game with consecutive sixes to finish unbeaten on 28 at a strike-rate of 215.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed on Friday that it will host West Indies for a three-match T20I series in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from January 19 to 22.
The series will begin on January 19, with the second and third T20Is scheduled for January 21 and 22. It is expected to provide both teams with valuable match practice and will play a key role in their preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled less than a month after the series.
ACB CEO Naseeb Khan said: “Competing against West Indies on the brink of a global event presents an excellent opportunity for our team to finalize their lineup and enhance preparations for the upcoming tournament in India and Sri Lanka. We have been closely monitoring the team’s preparation process, and facing a quality West Indies side offers an ideal platform for their buildup.”
CWI Director of Cricket Miles Bascombe added: “This series provides an ideal platform for our preparations. Facing strong opposition in subcontinental conditions will help us sharpen our combinations and approach, while also giving our players a chance to build confidence on surfaces similar to those we’ll encounter in India and Sri Lanka.”
Series Schedule:
Afghanistan’s national cricket team continued their dominant form in the Hong Kong Sixes tournament on Friday, recording back-to-back victories over Nepal and South Africa.
Against South Africa, Afghanistan posted 148 runs in six overs. Captain Gulbadin Naib starred with 50 runs off just 12 balls, while Karim Janat added 46 from 11 deliveries. South Africa could muster only 99 runs in response, giving Afghanistan a commanding 49-run win.
Earlier on Friday, Afghanistan had defeated Nepal by 17 runs, marking a perfect start to the tournament.
The Hong Kong Sixes features twelve teams, each with six players, competing in a fast-paced, six-over format.
The Afghanistan national futsal team played to a 2–2 draw with Iran in their second match of the Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh on Thursday.
Sayed Mujtaba Hosseini and Mahdi Nowruzi were on target for Afghanistan.
Having defeated Tajikistan in their opening game of the tournament, Afghanistan will face Morocco in their final group-stage match next Saturday.
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