Afghanistan would look to shrug off the defeat against Pakistan and return to winning ways when they take on debutants Namibia, who will be eager to continue their dream run in the T20 World Cup, Dubai on Sunday.
Rashid Khan opens up on the Afghanistan captaincy controversy and facing criticism against his bowling
People who were used to see him lead for 10 years were happy.
Afghanistan registered their first Test victory after Rahmat Shah's second fifty of the match helped secure their seven-wicket win against Ireland in a one-off contest in Dehradun on Monday.
Smith's player of the match effort of 211 and 82 runs in the two innings has lifted him to 937 rating points, only 10 less than his all-time best aggregate achieved in December 2017.
Eager to keep their semi-final hopes alive, a desperate Bangladesh will have their work cut out when they take on a spirited Afghanistan in a do-or-die World Cup encounter in Southampton on Monday. England's defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka on Friday breathed air into Bangladesh's hopes of securing a semi-final berth and the 'Tigers' will be keen on making the most of the situation starting with a win over the bottom-placed Afghanistan.
A couple of losses for hosts England has only brightened the 1992 winners' prospects of a semi-final berth.
Images from the England-Afghanistan World Cup match in Manchester, on Tuesday.
Down and out, the two bottom-placed teams know that this will be their best chance to post their first win in the ongoing 50-over showpiece.
None other than India skipper Virat Kohli acknowledged Afghanistan's rapid rise in the last four years.
Their campaign back on track after a stunning victory over South Africa, a resurgent England will be looking to plug their bowling loopholes when they take on an ever-improving Afghanistan in a Super 10 Group 1 match of the ICC World Twenty20, in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
Images from Monday's World Cup match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, in Southampton.
South Africa won their first game at the World Cup, beating Afghanistan by nine wickets (DLS). Imran Tahir finished with figures of 4 for 29, the best figures by a spinner in the tournament so
All-rounder Imad Wasim's unbeaten 49 guided Pakistan to a thrilling three-wicket victory over minnows Afghanistan in Leeds on Saturday, maintaining their hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals.
A three-wicket blitz at the start of their innings knocked the wind out of Afghanistan on their World Cup debut and helped Bangladesh to a 105-run victory with more than seven overs to spare in their Pool A opener in Canberra on Wednesday.
Growing in confidence with every opportunity that has come their way, Afghanistan cricket captain Asghar Stanikzai said his team knows how to beat the big guns of the game but the ICC has to give it enough chances. "You can make a comparison between Afghanistan and other associates. Many associates have been playing for last 30-40 years. They have been participating in World Cup tournaments. If you see our history, at the elite level we're playing only recently. We have really done well something other nations could not do it in 30-40 years," Stanikzai said.
This was Sri Lanka's second loss in as many matches, and, as a consequence, they have been knocked out of the tournament.
Asked to comment on India-Pakistan high voltage match, Inzamam-ul-Haq said with a smile: "I'm Afghan coach..."
Flag-waving and rifle shots greeted Afghanistan's Twenty20 tournament victory in Pakistan on Monday. Afghanis danced to their traditional drum beat music to celebrate a famous win in Karachi in their debut at one of the most prestigious events on the T20 night circuit.
The only problem for India in the Asia Cup so far has been lack of batting time for the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav and Dinesh Karthik.
Afghanistan will take on Bangladesh in a three-match T20 series, starting Dehradun on Sunday, dividing their focus ahead of the historic Test debut against India in two weeks' time.
Spinner Rashid Khan celebrated his 20th birthday in style by producing a stunning all-round display as Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by 136 runs in an Asia Cup match in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Advancing into the Super 10 stage for the first time in three attempts, minnows Afghanistan will face a formidable challenge when they clash with South Africa in the ICC World Twenty 20 Championship at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
Afghanistan will realise a long-cherished dream when they debut as a Test nation on Thursday but captain Asghar Stanikzai ruled out being nervous ahead of the match against their top-ranked hosts India.
Minnows Afghanistan scripted history as they defeated 2012 champions West Indies by six runs in their final group league encounter of the ICC World Twenty20 in Nagpur to sign off on a memorable note.
Lost in transition, defending champions Sri Lanka will look to come out of the rut and start well against a spirited Afghanistan in their World Twenty20 Super 10 opener at Eden Gardens on Thursday. The defending champions, who were also runners-up in 2009 and 2012, have managed to win only four of their 14 matches since they beat India to win the 2014 edition in Mirpur. They are in the middle of a transition phase after Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene's exit. The build-up to the tournament was also forgettable with series defeats in New Zealand and India followed by an early ouster in Asia Cup. To add to the misery, their 2014 WT20 winning skipper Lasith Malinga has stepped down as leader of the team, following concern over his slow recovery from a knee injury. Now Test and ODI skipper Angelo Mathews' task is cutout. Having joined the squad on Tuesday, Malinga is a doubtful starter for the match. His presence in the team would impact the team a lot.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he hopes the historic cricket Test match between India and Afghanistan would strengthen ties between the South Asian neighbours and allies in the fight against militancy in the region.
India enjoys close relations with Afghanistan and both accuse common neighbour Pakistan of not doing enough to stop Islamist militants operating on their territory.
Bangladesh dashed Afghanistan's hopes of a fairytale finish in the men's cricket final at the Asian Games on Friday to win their first gold at the multi-sport event.
'I am not envious of those who are making millions. It's their era and I had my era.'
Subash Khakurel smashed a fine half-century to help Nepal beat Afghanistan by nine runs in their final Group A qualifying match and register their second win in the ICC World T20 in Chittagong.
"The killing of Abdul Rehman alias Fauji Bhai alias Fauji Baba, a Pakistani national, is a big success for security forces as he was a master in assembling improvised explosive devices for JeM," Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar told reporters in Srinagar.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
Afghanistan scored 145 for six after electing to bat, a target which they defended riding on Rashid's brilliance.
5 Afghanistan cricketers including hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammed Shahzad in the Indian Premier League auction pool.
Ajinkya Rahane said his side were determined to be 'ruthless' in their approach after the hosts demolished Afghanistan by an innings and 262 runs inside two days in its debut Test match, in Bengaluru.
Afghanistan scripted a new story in annuls of cricketing history after qualifying for the World T20 tournament proper on Saturday.
If we click, we can do anything, says Angelo Mathews .
A day after the National Investigation Agency filed a chargesheet against Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar in the Pathankot attack, India took on Pakistan at the United Nations and called on the hostile neighbour to leave behind its ways of terrorism, with the warning saying that, "what you sow will bear fruit".
Defending champions Sri Lanka secured a six wicket win over Afghanistan in their ICC World T20 Super 10 opener at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.
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