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World Cup 2023: Warm-ups, schedules and venues

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Australia and India will have to switch to World Cup mode just three days after they finish their ODI series next month in Rajkot when they take on Netherlands and England respectively in warm up matches on September 30.

Afghanistan will meanwhile face South Africa in their warm up match on September 29, the same day that Pakistan meets New Zealand and Bangladesh faces Sri Lanka.

India will travel to Guwahati for their first warm-up, while Australia will fly to Trivandrum for their match. Both these sides, along with Afghanistan and New Zealand have warm-ups scheduled in different cities.

The other six teams will all be stationed in one city for their warm-ups. Hyderabad plays host to Pakistan, while Guwahati hosts England, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The southern coastal town of Trivandrum will host Netherlands and South Africa.

India and Pakistan will round off the tournament’s warm-ups by playing Netherlands and Australia respectively on the final day on October 3, before the teams disperse towards their respective venues for their tournament opener. All warm-up games are day-night fixtures that will commence at 2pm local time, with all 15 members of the playing squad permitted to play.

In a late development, ESPNcricket reported Wednesday afternoon that police in Hyderabad have expressed their inability to provide adequate security for the Pakistan-New Zealand warm up match due to festivals taking place there at the time.

The teams are scheduled to play a warm up match on September 29 but Hyderabad Cricket Association has taken the decision to let the game be played “behind closed doors” – or without spectators.

Observers say this will impact the fans who bought tickets for the match. There has been a question mark over this warm up match after Hyderabad police told the local association that it would struggle to meet the security demands put in place by the ICC for World Cup matches including the warm-ups.

This is because of two major religious festivals, which take place around the same date as the match and involve large crowd gatherings.

Hyderabad is one of three venues, along with Trivandrum and Guwahati, that will host the warm-up segment of the tournament, to be played between September 29 and October 3, before the tournament proper starts on October 5.

Once again Ariana Television Network (ATN) will bring all the fun directly into the homes of cricket fans across Afghanistan. In addition to broadcasting World Cup matches live daily, ATN will also broadcast the warm up matches live.

So with just days to go before this thrilling tournament gets underway, be sure to keep an eye on our website and social media platforms for all updates and broadcast schedules.

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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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