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Shepherd blasts 32 in final over as Mumbai take first IPL win

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Romario Shepherd smashed 32 runs off the 20th over for Mumbai Indians to set up their first victory of this Indian Premier League season as they beat Delhi Capitals by 29 runs on Sunday.

In the second match of the day, seam bowler Yash Thakur took the first five-wicket haul of the IPL campaign to lead Lucknow Super Giants to a 33-run win over Gujarat Titans on home turf.

In match one, Shepherd crashed a 10-ball 39 in an unbeaten stand of 53 off 13 deliveries with Tim David, who struck 45, to steer Mumbai to 234-5 at their home Wankhede Stadium.

Delhi finished on 205-8, despite Tristan Stubbs’ unbeaten 25-ball 71. They slumped to the bottom of the 10-team table.

Five-time IPL winners Mumbai bounced back from losing their first three games to reduce the pressure on skipper Hardik Pandya, who has been booed by fans after replacing Rohit Sharma as captain ahead of this edition, AFP reported.

“I would like to have this feeling more often than not,” said Pandya after the victory. “Lot of hard work, hard to clear our minds, and everything clicked.”

“There was a lot of love and care going around, everyone knows we lost three games but the belief and backing was there, everyone believes we needed just one win and today was the start,” Pandya said.

David smashed a six and four at the end of the 19th over before Shepherd walloped Anrich Nortje for four sixes and two fours in the last over as Mumbai took 42 runs from the final eight balls.

Rohit (49) and Ishan Kishan (42) laid the foundations for the total in an 80-run opening stand before Axar Patel sent the two back in the pavilion with his left-arm spin.

Returning batsman Suryakumar Yadav, who missed the first three losses injured, survived a toe-crushing yorker by Nortje on his first ball but then miscued the next delivery to mid-on for a two-ball duck.

Mumbai lost another wicket before Pandya and David put on 60 to steady the innings ahead of Shepherd’s explosive knock.

In reply, Prithvi Shaw hit 66 after losing opening partner David Warner for 10 off Shepherd’s seam bowling.

Shaw and the left-handed Abhishek Porel, who hit 41, put on 88 for the second wicket before Jasprit Bumrah removed both.

South Africa’s Stubbs raised a fifty in 19 balls but the asking rate kept climbing and Gerald Coetzee took three wickets in the final over to return figures of 4-34.

In the day’s second match in Lucknow, Marcus Stoinis hit 58 to guide Lucknow to a total, which looked below par but the bowlers made sure it was enough.

Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi took a stunning return catch off his own leg-spin to send Gujarat’s impact substitute Kane Williamson out for one.

Left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya, elder brother of Mumbai’s Hardik, struck three times, including twice in one over when he took the wicket of Sai Sudarshan for 31 to derail the opposition chase.

Thakur, who bowled skipper Shubman Gill for 19 as his first wicket, then sent down a double-wicket maiden to flatten the batting.

He took two more wickets in the 19th over for his first-ever five wicket haul — 5-30 — in T20 cricket.

New pace sensation Mayank Yadav picked up an injury after he bowled just one over for 13 runs.

Next match!

Chennai Super Kings will take on Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday, April 8. Fans across Afghanistan can tune in from 6.30pm on Ariana Television to watch the match live. Alternatively, fans in the country can stream the match live on www.arianatelevision.com

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Omar Zawak thrash Istiqlal Kabul 5-1 in ACL

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Omar Zawak secured an emphatic 5-1 victory over Istiqlal Kabul in the 80th match of the sixth season of Afghanistan Champions League Roshan, delivering an impressive attacking performance.

The match was played in Kabul on Tuesday. Both teams struggled to find the back of the net in the first half, which ended goalless.

However, Omar Zawak stepped up their attacking efforts in the second half, scoring five goals to take control of the match. Istiqlal Kabul managed to score just once as Omar Zawak sealed a convincing 5-1 victory.

Omar Zawak will face Ariana Khost in their next match on November 12, while Istiqlal Kabul will take on Aino Mina Kandahar on the same day.

All matches of the sixth season of Afghanistan Champions League are broadcast live on Ariana Television.

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First Test between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe ends in a draw

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Zimbabwe produced a remarkable batting display to secure a draw against Afghanistan in the first Test in Sharjah, with Craig Ervine and Wessly Madhevere scoring unbeaten centuries on the final day.

Resuming the fifth and final day at 164/3, Zimbabwe finished on 523/5 in their second innings, following their first-innings total of 504. This marked the first time in Test cricket history that a team has scored more than 500 runs in both innings of a match.

Craig Ervine remained unbeaten on 206, while Madhevere scored 100 not out, as the pair frustrated Afghanistan’s bowlers throughout the day.

Ervine, aged 41 years and 82 days, became the third-oldest player to score a double century in Test cricket.

Afghanistan had posted 514 in their first innings. Afghanistan needed early wickets to put pressure on the hosts, but Zimbabwe’s batters showed patience and discipline on a pitch offering little assistance to the bowlers.

Brian Bennett scored a half-century before Mohammad Saleem dismissed him, while debutant Antum Naqvi contributed 61 runs. Naqvi and Ervine shared a 140-run partnership before Abdul Malik broke the stand.

However, Madhevere joined Ervine and the pair put together an unbeaten 208-run partnership for the sixth wicket, the highest for that wicket in Zimbabwe’s Test history. Madhevere also registered his maiden Test century during the partnership.

The result leaves the two sides level heading into the second and final Test, which is scheduled to begin in Sharjah on November 13.

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Portugal beat Afghanistan 2-0 in Dakar Youth Olympics futsal semi-finals

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Afghanistan’s Under-18 futsal team missed out on a place in the gold medal match at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Portugal in the semi-finals on Monday.

Portugal took the lead through Joao Carvalho, who capitalised on a goalkeeping error by Afghanistan’s Ahmad Esmaeili to score into an unguarded net from inside his own half.

Diego Ferreira doubled Portugal’s advantage before half-time, putting the European side firmly in control of the match.

Afghanistan pushed hard to get back into the game in the second half, creating several opportunities to reduce the deficit. However, they were unable to find the net, with Portugal goalkeeper Bernardo Borges making several important saves.

The victory sends Portugal into the gold medal match, while Afghanistan will now compete for the bronze medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

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