Sport
Skippers unveil trophy for maiden Test match between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka and Afghanistan skippers, Dhananjaya de Silva and Hashmatullah Shahidi respectively, on Thursday unveiled the trophy for the maiden Test match between the two nations at the Independence Square in Colombo.
The Test, which gets underway on Friday, will be Afghanistan’s 8th red ball match since gaining test status in 2017.
Senior Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan will miss the one-off event as he continues to recover from back surgery. Qais Ahmed, whose only Test came five years ago, has been named in the squad in place of Rashid.
There are also four uncapped players in the squad – Noor Ali Zadran, Zia-ur-Rehman, Mohammad Ishaq and Naveed Zadran.
Noor Ali, who is related to Mujeeb ur Rahman and Ibrahim Zadran, is the most experienced of the four with 74 international caps to his name in ODIs and T20Is.
The 35-year-old is yet to make his Test debut. He, however, made his ODI debut as early as 2009, in Afghanistan’s first ever ODI.
Afghanistan’s last Test came in June 2023, when the team lost to Bangladesh by a huge margin.
The tour of Sri Lanka also includes three ODIs and as many T20Is, which follow the one-off Test.
Sri Lanka meanwhile hope to revive their flagging test fortunes with new five-day captain Dhananjaya de Silva taking the helm for the Test.
The island nation is ranked in 8th place on the ICC’s Men’s Test Team Rankings, while Afghanistan is ranked 11th.
Sri Lank’s last match in October last year saw a humiliating innings and 222-run loss to Pakistan in their worst ever home defeat.
Three uncapped players are among Sri Lanka’s 16-member squad.
Afghanistan Cricket Board chair, Mirwais Ashraf, meanwhile said last month that the board and team “are committed to strengthening our red-ball cricket and building a formidable test side as well.”
Test squads
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Ibrahim Zadran, Abdul Malik, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Bahir Shah, Nasir Jamal, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Qais Ahmad, Zia-ur-Rehman, Zahir Khan, Yamin Ahmadzai, Nijat Masood, Mohammad Saleem, Naveed Zadran.
Sri Lanka: Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), Kusal Mendis, Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Udara, Chamika Gunasekara, Milan Rathnayake.
Stay Tuned to Ariana Television!
Fans will be pleased to know that this exciting tour will be screened live and exclusively in Afghanistan on Ariana Television.
First up is the Test which is scheduled from Friday, February 2 to 6.
The match will start at 9am Kabul time but a pre-match broadcast starts at 8am on Friday.
Sport
Omar Zawak thrash Istiqlal Kabul 5-1 in ACL
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.
Sport
First Test between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe ends in a draw
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.
Sport
Portugal beat Afghanistan 2-0 in Dakar Youth Olympics futsal semi-finals
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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