'KL was excellent in nullifying that early threat and played very straight.'
Less than four years after playing their first tournament against teams including Japan and Norway, Afghanistan will write a new chapter in their remarkable rise with a One-day International against Pakistan on Friday.
India has said it will consider engaging in development projects in Afghanistan and provide material support to the country in the health sector. The announcement came after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held talks with the Taliban regime's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai.
Australia will be without their premier pacers but their envious pedigree in ICC tournaments make them favourites to progress to the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy from Group B.
Armed with a potent bowling attack, Afghanistan initially felt more comfortable defending totals but their batters have shown maturity as they have taken the side to back-to-back victories, chasing totals.
"Captaincy is a huge responsibility. I have the experience of leading my country before, there is a great bunch of guys with whom I have a good understanding and feel pretty comfortable.
BCCI might field a second string team for the proposed home series against Afghanistan.
Johnson, a two-Test veteran for India, passed away tragically on Thursday.
The Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) said the tournament will go ahead on schedule irrespective of India's participation.
"You can't do anything about it," Rashid Khan conceded as he tried to make sense of Australia's refusal to play bilateral cricket with Afghanistan men's team, which he believes, achieves nothing beyond denying happiness to his people.
Jonathan Trott, who took over the coaching reins in July, said it was the result of some serious hard work to get their batting and basics right for the tournament.
Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell retired from ODIs to focus on next year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
India ended an 11-year-long ICC Trophy drought, beating South Africa by seven runs to claim the ICC T20 World Cup title for the second time on June 29 last year, in Barbados.
Bangladesh eye an improved performance from their batters in their 2nd group match against Afghanistan on Sunday in the Asia Cup 2023.
This is the first-ever Test between New Zealand against Afghanistan who got their Test status in 2017.
'It was a wonderful all-round effort by Afghanistan'
Aakash Chopra believes Virat Kohli can rediscover his form if he shows patience at the crease
Fans can expect a wide open tournament in the absence of an overwhelming favourite in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.
Three days after stunning defending champions England in New Zealand, the plucky Afghans briefly kindled hopes of another upset when New Zealand's top order suffered a mini-collapse.
Afghanistan women set to return to cricket field after four-year wait.
Security was breached again in Lahore, where another pitch invader ran onto the field during Afghanistan's post-match celebrations.
There was poor communication and complete mismanagement between the stadium authority and the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). Rain had affected the buildup to the Test, the first between the two nations, with New Zealand not being able to complete a single practice session properly.
Arshdeep Singh starred as India ended their wait for a major ICC trophy win with victory in the T20 World Cup last year.
England previously faced Afghanistan at the 50-overs Cricket World Cup in 2023, as well as at the Twenty20 World Cup in 2022.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have signed Mayank Agarwal as a replacement for the injured Devdutt Padikkal, while Delhi Capitals (DC) have signed Afghan batter Sediqullah Atal in place of Harry Brook.
The ICC is now expected to announce the final schedule of the event with Pakistan expected to host 9 to 10 matches.
India enjoys close relations with Afghanistan and both accuse common neighbour Pakistan of not doing enough to stop Islamist militants operating on their territory.
Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai won the first-ever ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year Award for his war-torn country.
'When I was batting, I realised the wicket wasn't supportive for batters against spinners. I told the boys that 280-290 would be enough when I got back into the dressing room. I want to say that the belief, trust and talent is there.'
Without giving too much away, India head coach Rahul Dravid hinted at the possibility of playing wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the Caribbean leg of the T20 World Cup, starting with the Super 8 opener against Afghanistan.
Players from lower-ranked nations have limited opportunities to learn from competing with top-tier teams but franchise cricket has helped them develop their skills by rubbing shoulders with elite cricketers, Zimbabwe's T20 skipper Sikandar Raza has said.
An Afghani team will appear in Pakistan's domestic tournament later this year while a youth side will undertake a separate tour in September.
The Champions Trophy Group B fixture between Australia and South Africa in Rawalpindi was abandoned without a ball being bowled on Tuesday.
Without belittling the poised run of the Proteas, Afghanistan have been the revelation of this ICC showpiece.
Afghanistan's Noor Ahmad registered the best figures for a Chennai spinner against Mumbai with 4-18, restricting the five-times champions to a below-par 155-9 and laying the foundation for his team's four-wicket victory on Sunday.
There were reports that the ICC could forbid Afghanistan from participating in the showpiece event if the team decides to play under the Taliban flag amid the ongoing turmoil in the country.
With commercial flights from Kabul airport yet to resume, media reports said the Afghanistan team had been looking to travel to Pakistan by road and fly to Colombo via Dubai.
Australia's men's team has withdrawn from their one-day international (ODI) series against Afghanistan in March following further restrictions on women's and girls' rights imposed by the Taliban.
Following the match, Australian batsman Usman Khawaja took to social media to congratulate Afghanistan on their well-deserved win.
Afghanistan (6 points) will not only look to secure two points against the Dutch (4 points) but also aim to win big and improve the net run-rate
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