Sport
Rashid promises Afghanistan will bounce back from England defeat
Star spinner Rashid Khan said Afghanistan would bounce back from their opening loss to England at the Twenty20 World Cup in Perth on Saturday after having shown “promising talent” in the five-wicket defeat.
England bowled out Afghanistan for a paltry 112 but the Afghan spin force led by Rashid dragged the opposition chase to the 19th over by taking five wickets.
“First game for the guys. A different environment for all the youngsters in the team. First time playing in Australia and the conditions, facing the bowlers with speeds of 150 plus, so a great learning for them,” the leg-spinner told AFP.
“But definitely we will come back. Some promising talent is there. We are going to be much improved in the upcoming games. Batting is the area we need to work on.”
Afghanistan will next play New Zealand on Wednesday in Melbourne.
Afghanistan’s batting fell flat with left-arm quick bowler Sam Curran becoming the first England bowler to take five wickets in a Twenty20 international.
Ben Stokes and Mark Wood, whose express pace exceeded 150kph at times, took two wickets each as Afghanistan were all out in 19.4 overs.
Rashid returned impressive figures of 1-17 in his four overs and was ably supported by fellow spinners Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman as they looked to restrict England, one of the tournament favorites.
Mujeeb got Dawid Malan with his mystery spin and off-spinner Nabi bowled Stokes for two before Liam Livingstone took England home with an unbeaten 29 off 21 balls.
“The way we bowled it showed anything between 150-160 will be a good total for us,” Rashid said.
Afghanistan played two left-arm quick bowlers Fazalhaq Farooqui and Fareed Ahmed, but they rely on spin to win matches.
Rashid said he, Mujeeb and Nabi, would be able to benefit from their experience of playing in Australia’s Big Bash League.
“It’s just about the conditions you adjust yourself to. You understand what is the right length and right area to ball on that wicket,” said Rashid.
“We have five to six years of experience in the Big Bash. So we have that in the mind and need to keep it simple.”
Afghanistan stunned Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the Asia Cup T20 tournament in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year.
They missed out on the final spot after losing a last-over thriller to Pakistan and Rashid said Afghanistan could beat anyone on their day.
“You don’t know with T20, what’s going to happen to any team. It’s not like someone is strong, someone is very weak. you have seen in the qualifiers that West Indies were knocked out,” said Rashid.
“Anything can happen, it’s just about having the positive mindset and having the self-belief that yes we are capable of beating any side.”
Sport
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.
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.
Sport
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.
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.
Sport
India clinch ODI series against Afghanistan
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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