Sport
Unbeaten India heap more misery on holders England at World Cup
India maintained their unbeaten streak at the 2023 World Cup with a 100-run victory in a low-scoring contest against holders England, who are facing a premature exit following their fifth defeat in six group matches on Sunday.
Rohit Sharma saved India’s blushes with a captain’s knock of 87 in what initially appeared a below-par total of 229-9 on a tricky surface at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, Reuters reported.
Put into bat, the hosts slumped to 40-3 in the 12th over before Rohit forged a 91-run partnership with KL Rahul (39) to arrest their slide.
Suryakumar Yadav contributed a breezy 49 down the order and India’s tailenders scored some useful runs towards the end to take them past the 225-mark.
England were reduced to 52-5 inside 16 overs in a remarkable batting capitulation and were eventually bundled out for 129 in inside 35 overs with Mohammed Shami claiming 4-22 for India.
Liam Livingstone’s 27 was the top score in England’s sorry-looking scorecard.
“I think this was a game where we showed a lot of character,” Rohit said after India’s sixth successive win in the tournament.
“All the experienced players stood up at the right time and won us the game.”
Holders England went into the match as the bottom-placed team with only mathematical chances of making the semi-finals after just one win in their previous five group matches.
In India, they faced the tournament’s only unbeaten side looking unstoppable in their home conditions.
Jos Buttler elected to field after winning the toss and had reasons to feel vindicated as India slumped to 40-3 in the 12th over.
David Willey (3-45) began with a maiden and sent groans across the stadium in the seventh over when he dismissed Virat Kohli for a nine-ball duck.
The early setbacks forced Rohit to shelve his natural strokeplay and he combined with Rahul to arrest their slide.
India crawled to the 100-mark at the halfway stage of their innings but still had plenty of overs as well as considerable batting firepower left to make up for the loss.
Willey dismissed Rahul and Adil Rashid sent back Rohit to snuff out those hopes but Suryakumar’s cheeky knock took India past 200.
England began briskly but were soon jolted out of any complacence after Jasprit Bumrah (3-32) dismissed Dawid Malan and Joe Root with successive deliveries in the fifth over of the innings.
Like Root, Ben Stokes could not open his account either and had his stumps wrecked by Shami as England’s start proved worse than that of their opponents.
Kohli dropped Jonny Bairstow in the slip but the batter dragged a delivery from Shami on to his stumps to depart with England reeling at 39-4 in the 10th over.
Buttler’s dismissal was emblematic of England’s shambolic batting in the match.
The England captain was utterly deceived by a Kuldeep Yadav (2-24) delivery that pitched outside off-stump, turned sharply and sneaked through the yawning bat-pad gap to hit the middle stump.
“Very disappointing,” Buttler said.
“At the halfway stage chasing 230 we fancied ourselves. But it’s the same old story.”
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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