Sri Lanka celebrate 10-wicket Test win against Afghanistan

Published

3 months ago

February 5, 2024

(Last Updated On: February 5, 2024)

Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets with a day to spare in the one-off Test in Colombo on Monday with their opening batsmen chasing down an easy target of 56.

Afghanistan were bowled out for 296 in their second innings, setting Sri Lanka the low goal, with Dimuth Karunaratne (32 not out) and Nishan Madushka (22 not out) finishing the job within 7.2 overs.

Afghanistan were playing catch-up after conceding a lead of 241 runs in the first innings, but fought back well in their second dig with Ibrahim Zadran leading the way with a maiden Test hundred.

Rahmat Shah backed up the opening batter with a half-century but once the pair were dismissed, Afghanistan folded quickly.

Sri Lanka skipper Dhananjaya de Silva said Afghanistan did well on day two with the ball but his team stuck to their plan.

“When both Angelo (Mathews) and I got dismissed, it might not seem that bad but that was the point that Afghanistan felt they were back in the game,” he said.

“I think that was the crucial moment of the match. But our bowlers stuck to the plan all day (day 3), not giving runs away and keeping it tight.”

Prabath Jayasuriya finished with his seventh five-wicket haul in Test cricket.

“I’m really happy at the moment, the last couple of days were tough,” said Jayasuriya, named man of the match.

“We knew this was a batting-friendly wicket, so we were just trying to do the basics right.”

Afghanistan were looking good to stretch the game to the final day when they resumed on day four at 199 for one in their second innings.

‘Lack of experience’

However, six wickets fell in the morning session for just 52 runs as the second new ball hurt the Afghans.

Seamer Kasun Rajitha dismissed overnight batsman Rahmat for 54 and then left-arm spinner Jayasuriya ran through the middle order as the new ball offered him bounce and turn.

Jayasuriya used his arm ball — which goes straight on — to good effect, foxing batsmen who were playing for turn.

Zadran, who had batted for more than six hours for his hundred, was confused by one such delivery, and was bowled through the gate.

Jayasuriya finished with five for 107, while seamers Asitha Fernando and Kasun Rajitha shared five wickets between them.

Jayasuriya ended the game with eight wickets, having taken three in the first innings.

Despite the loss, Afghanistan’s fast bowlers were impressive, with Naveed Zadran picking up four wickets in Sri Lanka’s first innings on his debut.

Hundreds by former captains Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal helped Sri Lanka to their first-innings total of 439.

The pair were involved in a record 232-run stand for the fourth wicket, the highest-scoring partnership at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club for that wicket.

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said he was disappointed because they lost the game despite managing a “good comeback”.

“I think it’s the lack of experience in Test cricket and also not having a lot of opportunities to play red-ball cricket,” Shahidi said.

“We’re new in Test cricket and it’s a learning process for us. I hope that we learn from this game.”

The match was not part of the World Test Championship.

The teams will now move to Kandy for a three-match ODI series, followed by three T20 Internationals in Dambulla. – AFP

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Underdogs Afghanistan qualify for Futsal World Cup

Published

1 hour ago

April 28, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: April 28, 2024)

Competing in their first AFC Futsal Asian Cup, Afghanistan have concluded a fairy tale tournament by edging the Kyrgyz Republic to reach the FIFA Futsal World Cup.

Four second-half goals guided Afghanistan to a 5-3 win and the final 24-strong field for Uzbekistan 2024 is now set.

Unknown at continental level at the start of the month, Afghanistan have scripted one of the great futsal fairy tales by reaching the global showpiece for the very first time.

After raising eyebrows by pushing powerhouse Iran in their opening match and then progressing from the group, the Afghans were involved in a triple Central Asian tangle that ultimately saw them reach the FIFA Futsal World Cup.

Defeat at the hands of Tajikistan in the first of the quarter-finals looked to have marked the end for the daring debutantes only for World Cup hosts Uzbekistan to see off Vietnam in the last of the final eight match-ups to necessitate a play-off to determine the final slot at the sport’s showpiece event.

A 5-3 win against Iraq in the first round of the play-offs set up this winner-takes-all affair with a Kyrgyz Republic outfit also eyeing a maiden World Cup berth.

Settling the better of the two teams, it was a ninth-minute Omid Qanbari effort that sent Afghanistan to the break with a narrow lead; one that they would double nine minutes after the restart as an own goal from Mukhamed Askarbekov made it 2-0.

A frantic ten-minute period then produced six goals but with the Kyrgyz Republic always chasing the match, the Afghans never looked too troubled, with two late, long-range, goals from captain Mahdi Norowzi and Mehran Gholami capping off the impressive 5-3 win.

The FIFA Futsal World Cup is an international futsal competition contested by the senior men’s national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport’s global governing body.

Since the first edition that took place in 1989 in the Netherlands, the tournament has been held every four years since 1992.

The current champions are Portugal, who won their first world title after beating the 2016 defending champions Argentina in the final of the 2021 tournament in Lithuania.

Sport

Afghanistan qualify for FIFA Futsal World Cup for first time ever

Published

10 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: April 28, 2024)

Afghanistan qualified for the 2024 Futsal World Cup after 5-3 victory against Kyrgyzstan in the Playoff 3 of AFC Futsal Asian Cup in Bangkok on Sunday.

This is the first time that Afghanistan qualifies for the Futsal World Cup.

The tenth edition of Futsal World Cup is scheduled to start on September 14, 2024 in Uzbekistan.

Twenty-four teams will participate in the tournament.

Afghanistan, France, New Zealand and Tajikistan will make their debuts.

Sport

ACL: Mawj Sahil 2-1 Sarsabz Yashlar; Sorkh Poshan 6-0 Maiwand

Published

11 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: April 28, 2024)

Mawj Sahil defeated Sarsabz Yashlar 2-1 in the 15th match of Afghanistan Champions League in Kabul on Saturday, while Sorkh Poshan hammered Maiwand 6-0 in the 16th match of the tournament on the same day.

Sanan Rahimi and Esmatullah Hadafmand scored the two goals for Mawj Sahil.

Yashlar’s only goal was scored by Mohammad Nasir Niazi.

Sorkh Poshan’s six goals against Maiwand were scored by Habibullah Hotak (1), Samir Mirzai (1), Hamir Amiri (1), Omid Rajabi (2) and captain Farhad Alizada (1).

Sunday’s matches will see Istiqlal Kabul take on Adalat Farah at 1:00 PM, and Khadim face Jawanan Wahedi at 3:30 PM.

The matches are broadcast live on Ariana Television.