Sport

World Cup: Afghanistan stun England in major upset win

Published

7 months ago

October 15, 2023

(Last Updated On: October 15, 2023)

Afghanistan registered a stunning 69-run win over England in the first major upset of the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

Afghanistan bundled England out for 215 to script just their second Cricket World Cup win, eight years since their last against Scotland in Australia. This time, it was the defending champions at the receiving end.

Put in to bat on a wicket that had yielded big runs recently, Afghanistan mustered a decent total, but then outdid the England bowlers with their spin trio reigning over the famed English batting line-up.

After putting on a decent total on the board, Afghanistan needed early breakthroughs to really push England onto the backfoot and Fazalhaq Farooqi did just that by shaping one back into Jonny Bairstow to trap him in front for two.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman added to England’s panic when a quicker one slid through quicker to nip out Joe Root’s stumps. At 33/2, England were in early trouble and Afghanistan had their eyes set on something special.

With Dawid Malan gifting a simple catch to cover off Mohammad Nabi and Jos Buttler cleaned up by Naveen-ul-Haq after a jittery time in the middle, Afghanistan were well and truly on top before the 20th over.

They pressed England further immediately after with Rashid Khan snaring the big scalp of Liam Livingstone in the 21st over, leaving the defending champions reeling at 117/5.

Harry Brook held the England innings together, compiling his second ODI fifty and warding off the Rashid threat admirably, but he kept running out of partners. When Nabi sent back Sam Curran, caught at slip, with the score still under 150, Afghanistan had truly stamped their authority on the game.

Chris Woakes and Brook promised a revival with a secure stand, but Mujeeb broke through with a tight over at the end of which Woakes’ stumps were pegged back.

Mujeeb came back to dismiss Brook and the rest of the line-up failed to counter the Afghanistan spinners as Afghanistan pulled off a memorable upset win.

Put in to bat, England were treated to a rampant Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who put the defending champions in defensive mode with an onslaught that saw Afghanistan race to 45 inside the first six overs.

With boundaries flooding from one end and Ibrahim Zadran blocking his end out pretty well on a flat wicket, the breakthrough just didn’t come for England.

Flaying criticism around their slow powerplay starts, Afghanistan dug into England’s bowling attack with Sam Curran being at the receiving end of Gurbaz’s fury. The opener smashed him for two fours and a six in the ninth over that saw 20 runs coming.

Gurbaz soon completed a 33-ball fifty and celebrated it next over by upper-cutting Mark Wood over the third man fence with a sublime shot.

Adil Rashid eventually broke through for England, sending back Zadran in the 17th over. The batter’s heave the leg-side was safely pouched by Joe Root at mid-wicket.

One brought another as Rahmat Shah was out stumped off Rashid in his next over. What was turning out to be a slight blip on their course soon turned into a mini-collapse as Gurbaz was run out the very next ball with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi erring in his judgment of a single.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz played one of the shots of the tournament when he uppercut Mark Wood for a six during his fast-paced 80 in Delhi.

With Gurbaz gone for 80 and Afghanistan losing three wickets in three overs, England sensed an opening to come back into the game.

Part-time spinners Liam Livingstone and Joe Root struck in between some lusty hits from Azmatullah Omarzai and Ikram Ali Khil as Afghanistan lost half their side in the 33rd over with the score still under 200.

If England hoped to run through the lower middle-order, that didn’t quite materialise with Ali Khil holding his end up quite well. Mark Wood bounced out Mohammad Nabi, but Rashid Khan curbed his instincts to ensure Ali Khil had decent company heading into the death overs.

It took a gem of a catch from Root near the ropes for England to break the 43-run stand between Ali Khil and Rashid with the latter falling to his namesake from the England side.

Mujeeb ur Rahman, though, got going for Afghanistan, slamming a sequence of four, four and six off Sam Curran to push Afghanistan late in the innings. Ali Khil joined him with some cracking shots too after his half-century.

England broke the stand before the final two overs with the wicket of Ali Khil and also prized out Mujeeb the first ball next over, but a competitive total had already been compiled. The 284 put on is Afghanistan’s second-highest score in the Cricket World Cup.

Related Topics:#WorldCup Afganistan ArianaNews england featured

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Aino Mina delivers 10-2 beating to Maiwand in ACL match

Published

15 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: May 20, 2024)

Aino Mina FC thrashed Maiwand FC 10-2 in the 59th match of the Afghanistan Champions League (ACL) in Kabul on Sunday.

Highest scoring player was Ahmad Nabi Moqadas, who drove the ball into the net five times and was later declared man of the match.

Abdul Majid Khan managed two goals while fellow players Rahman Mohammadi, Aziz Ahmadi and Rashid Nazari each scored a single goal.

In the second match Sunday, Attack Energy thumped Mawj Sahil 4-0. The man of the match of this game was Ahmad Nabi Moqadas

With less than a week left in this year’s league, every goal is critical to the teams.

Twelve teams in total are taking part in the event which kicked off on Saturday, April 20. The event is expected to wrap up on Thursday, May 23.

Monday will see two matches, both to be broadcast live by Ariana Television.

In the first match of the day, Sorkh Poshan Khafi will take on Abu Muslim Farah FC at 1pm.

The next match will see Istiqlal Kabul FC take on Sarsabz Yashlar FC at 3.30pm.

This year’s thrilling event is being jointly hosted by the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF), Ariana Television Network (ATN) and sponsor Victor Energy Drink.

Football fans across the country can tune in daily to Ariana Television to watch their favorite team take to the field.

Sport

Rashid Khan returns home, officially introduced as AWCC’s brand ambassador

Published

2 days ago

May 18, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: May 19, 2024)

Afghanistan’s cricket superstar Rashid Khan was officially introduced Saturday as brand ambassador for Afghan Wireless Communication Company (AWCC).

Rashid landed in Kabul on Saturday after an absence of several years. He returned following an official invitation from AWCC.

For years now, Rashid has followed the international cricket league circuit – playing for big name events including Indian Premier League (IPL), Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL) among others.

In March 2018, during the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, he captained Afghanistan for the first time in an ODI match – becoming the youngest player to captain an international side, at the age of 19 years and 165 days.

Rashid, a right-handed batsman and right-arm legbreak bowler, holds numerous records, including being the youngest player to become the No. 1 bowler in One Day International Rankings.

He also holds the record for the best bowling figures for an associate nation in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and the fastest bowler to complete 100 dismissals in T20 Internationals.

Rashid is a key player for Afghanistan and has contributed significantly to the country’s success in international cricket.

In line with Rashid’s commitment to the game, his resilience and determination to always do his best, AWCC moved to employ him as the company’s brand ambassador.

Aliullah Sarwari, CEO of AWCC, said at a ceremony in Kabul to mark the announcement and Rashid’s return to the country, that the company strives to ensure all citizens have access to high-quality telecommunications and internet services in the farthest and most remote areas of Afghanistan.

Sarwari added that high-quality telecommunication services, new technology, creating employment and access to the internet for all citizens in the farthest parts of the country are among the most important objectives of this company.

He also stated that the appointment of Rashid as brand ambassador for AWCC was made from a commercial and spiritual perspective.

Rashid, meanwhile, said it is the first time that he has been chosen as an ambassador and that he will try to serve the people and the country in the same way that he shines on the cricket field.

“I am happy and proud that I have been selected as a brand ambassador of Afghan Wireless for the first time,” said Rashid.

As a hero to his fellow countrymen, Rashid received a warm welcome on arrival in Kabul and thousands of cricket fans posted messages on social media to welcome him home.

One fan, Mohammad Sharif Noori, said on Facebook: “Thank God that you came. You are the pride of Afghanistan.”

Ishq Yousufzai, another fan, wrote on his social media page: “The pride of the homeland. The champion of Afghanistan.”

Sport

T20 World Cup warm-up match schedule released, Afghanistan to face Oman and Scotland

Published

3 days ago

May 17, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: May 17, 2024)

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed the much-anticipated warm-up match schedule for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. These preparatory games will take place from Monday, May 27 to Saturday, June 1, across various venues in the USA and the West Indies.

Venues and teams

The 16 warm-up matches will be hosted at the following locations:

Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Texas
Broward County Stadium, Florida
Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago
Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago

A total of 17 teams will participate in these matches, including South Africa, which will conduct an intra-squad game on May 29 in Florida. These matches will not carry official T20 international status, allowing teams the flexibility to field all members of their 15-player squads.

Schedule highlights

Unlike previous editions, teams now have the option to play up to two warm-up matches based on their arrival time.

Afghanistan will participate in two warm-up game, set for May 29 against Oman and May 31 against Scotland. Meanwhile, Pakistan and England will not engage in any warm-up fixtures as they will be engaging in a bilateral T20I series, which concludes on May 30.

The Afghanistan national cricket team departed Kabul on Thursday for the UAE to begin their T20 World Cup journey, which will be hosted by the U.S.

Afghanistan Cricket Board said some players participating in the IPL will join the team in the UAE.

It added that those whose IPL matches are still ongoing will join their teammates in the West Indies.

T20 World Cup Warm-up fixtures

Monday, May 27