Sport
South Africa win last game of ODI series against Afghanistan
South Africa were always on course to reach the target even after losing their opening three batsmen for 80 runs.
South Africa bounced back from two heavy defeats to beat Afghanistan by seven wickets in the last encounter of their One Day International Series in Sharjah on Sunday, Reuters reported.
Aiden Markram’s unbeaten 69 and 26 not out from Tristan Stubbs saw them reach 170 for three wickets off 33 overs in reply to Afghanistan’s modest total of 169.
Afghanistan had skittled South Africa out cheaply to win the first match on Wednesday and then handed the visitors a 177-run thumping on Friday but were unable to replicate their form, even after again winning the toss and electing to bat in the third ODI.
Their innings was dominated again by the powerful hitting of opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who scored 105 in Friday’s comprehensive victory which saw Afghanistan go 2-0 up in the three-match series.
This time he fell 11 short of another century, smashing 89 off 94 balls before being snapped up on the boundary by a flying catch by Reeza Hendricks off the bowling of Andile Phehlukwayo, read the report.
But for the rest, the Afghanis were undone by poor decision making and a little misfortune as they suffered three runouts.
Rahmat Shah was run out when a ball that was hit back down the wicket by Gurbaz was deflected by the hand of bowler Lungi Ngidi onto the shoulder of the stranded Shah and onto his wicket.
Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Ikram Alikhil were slow in making their ground and run out by quick thinking in the field with Afghanistan slumping to 132 for seven before Allah Ghazanfar contributed an unbeaten 31 off 15 to take them past 150, Reuters reported.
South Africa were always on course to reach the target even after losing their opening three batsmen for 80 runs.
Markram was the aggressor with Stubbs in a supporting role as their unbeaten 90-run partnership saw South Africa home.
Afghanistan’s cricket stars Rashid Khan and Azmatullah Omarzai have maintained their positions at the top of the latest ICC Men’s ODI rankings.
Rashid Khan remains the No. 1 ODI bowler in the world with 714 rating points.
Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed is second with 675 points, while South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj has moved up to third with 667 points.
New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner is fourth with 644 points, followed by India’s Kuldeep Yadav on 623.
Meanwhile, Azmatullah Omarzai continues to hold the top position in the ICC ODI all-rounder rankings with 337 points, giving Afghanistan two players at No. 1 in different ODI categories. Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe and Mehidy Hasan Miraz of Bangladesh follow him in the list.
Abu Muslim Farah beat Omar Zawak Herat 4-0 in the 30th match of the sixth season of the Roshan Afghanistan Champions League, delivering an impressive performance.
The match was played today (Wednesday) at the Afghanistan Football Federation Stadium.
Samiullah Naderi scored Abu Muslim Farah’s opening goal in the final minutes of the first half.
Abu Muslim Farah continued their attacking play in the second half, with Aman Sardari scoring the team’s second goal in the 69th minute with a spectacular header.
Omid Rajabi and Mirois Ghafouri then added two more goals to complete a 4-0 victory for Abu Muslim Farah.
Amanullah Sardari, captain of Abu Muslim Farah, was named Player of the Match against Omar Zawak Herat.
Abu Muslim Farah will face Ariana Khost in their next match on October 2, while Omar Zawak Herat will take on Istiqlal Kabul on the same day.
The sixth season of the Roshan Afghanistan Champions League is being broadcast live on Ariana Television.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board’s High Performance Center is set to launch a nationwide fast-bowling talent identification program, titled “Afghan Thunder,” across several provinces throughout October.
According to the ACB, the program will begin in Kunduz on October 4, with assessments continuing in Herat, Kandahar, Kabul, Khost, Paktia and Kunar before concluding in Nangarhar on October 27.
The board says eligible participants must be between 19 and 26 years old, at least 180 centimeters tall, hold a valid electronic National ID (e-Tazkira) and be capable of bowling at speeds of at least 140 kilometers per hour.
The assessment schedule is as follows: Kunduz on October 4–5, Herat on October 9–10, Kandahar on October 12, Kabul on October 14–15, Khost on October 19, Paktia on October 21, Kunar on October 25 and Nangarhar on October 27.
The ACB has encouraged eligible players who believe they have the potential to develop into high-level fast bowlers to take part in the Afghan Thunder Fast-Bowling Talent Hunt Program on the designated dates.
The board says the initiative aims to identify promising fast-bowling talent from across Afghanistan and provide talented players with a pathway into the country’s high-performance cricket system.
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