How Mumbai Maidan coach Patwal's tough-love sessions gave Harmer his second wind
Statistical highlights of the Asia Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh played at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, in Fatullah.
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.
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.
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.
Teen sensation Rashid Khan and fellow spinners Mujeeb ur Rahman, Zahir Khan and Hamza Hotak have been named in the 16-member Afghanistan squad for the inaugural one-off Test match against India, starting in Bengaluru, from June 14.
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.
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.
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.
Opener Mohammad Shahzad top-scored with a sparkling 39-ball 61 as Afghanistan defeated Scotland by 14 runs in their ICC World Twenty20 qualifying game in Nagpur on Tuesday. Opting to bat, Afghanistan made a formidable 170 for five in the stipulated 20 overs, and restricted their opponents to 156 for five. Shahzad's breezy knock included five boundaries and three sixes. Skipper Asghar Stanikzai remained unbeaten on a steady 55 off 50 balls. He found the fence two times and cleared it once, dropping anchor at one end even though he looked far from convincing after the dismissal of Shahzad at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium. The highlight of Afghanistan innings was undoubtedly the knock played by Shahzad and his 82-run second-wicket partnership with Stanikzai. While opener Noor Ali Zardan (17) missed out after getting a start, Gulbadin Naib (12) fell to an outstanding catch by Josh Davey. Shafiqullah then blazed his way to 15 off just five balls as Afghanistan reached a total that looked steep for Scotland, still seeking their first win over their rivals.
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.
Shikhar Dhawan moved up 10 places to achieve a career-best 24 while teammates Murali Vijay and Ravindra Jadeja also moved up in the latest Test rankings.
Afghanistan has shown great promise in taking its game to the next level, as its journey from the lower divisions to competing on cricket's biggest stages testifies. Since the ICC World Cup 2015, Afghanistan has won 25 of 44 games across formats. That includes 11 Twenty20 Internationals wins in 13 matches. Those statistics, and the fact that it has never lost a T20I to Scotland, will give Afghanistan a mental boost when the two sides lock horns in Tuesday's (March 8)second Group B match at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. Afghanistan certainly has all the ingredients to beat Scotland and this contest should be a keenly fought one.
Afghanistan qualified for next year's cricket World Cup as captain Asghar Stanikzai played through the pain barrier to produce a heroic innings and lead them to a five-wicket victory over Ireland on Friday.
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 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.
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.
Afghanistan notched up their first major win against a Test playing nation as they produced an all-round performance to script an upset 32-run victory over Bangladesh in their Asia Cup match in Fatullah on Saturday.
Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai believes the 'world-class' spinners in his team will pose a serious challenge to the much-vaunted Indian batting line-up in the historic one-off Test in Bengaluru from June 14.
Afghanistan beat Kenya by seven wickets, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, to earn automatic qualification to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
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.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board on Friday launched its very own franchise-based T20 league, to be held in the UAE in October, but the BCCI is expected to maintain its current stand of not allowing Indian players to turn freelancers.
Afghanistan scored 145 for six after electing to bat, a target which they defended riding on Rashid's brilliance.
If we click, we can do anything, says Angelo Mathews .
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Thisara Perera and Jeevan Mendis combined for a 58-run partnership to give Sri Lanka a nervous four-wicket victory over Afghanistan in their World Cup Pool A match at University Oval in Dunedin on Sunday.
Asked to comment on India-Pakistan high voltage match, Inzamam-ul-Haq said with a smile: "I'm Afghan coach..."
Rashid Khan took a big leap towards becoming the quickest bowler to 100 ODI wickets when he grabbed his fourth five-wicket haul as Afghanistan overcame a top-order batting collapse to prevail over the United Arab Emirates in a Super Six fixture of the ICC World Cup Qualifier, in Harare, on Tuesday.
Images from the the T20 World Cup Super 12s match between Afghanistan and Namibia, in Abu Dhabi, on Sunday.
'It's a historic moment for them and an opportunity for us to be part of the occasion'
Debutants Afghanistan were bowled out twice in a day to lose the one-off Test match against India by an innings and 262 runs, in Bengaluru, on Friday.
Afghanistan roared into the main draw of the World Twenty20 with an emphatic 59-run victory over Zimbabwe in a first round Group B match on Saturday. Mohammad Shahzad (40) gave Afghanistan a flying start before Mohammad Nabi (52) and Samiullah Shenwari (43) added 98 runs off 64 balls to power them to 186-6, their highest total in this format. The associate nation then returned to bowl out Zimbabwe for 127 to register a memorable victory over a full-member nation and join England, South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka in Group One of the Super 10 stage of the tournament. "This was a very important match for us. People in Afghanistan are crazy about cricket. They love the game, so (winning it) was very important for us," victorious captain Asghar Stanikzai said. With a place in the main draw at stake, Stanikzai opted to bat and was vindicated as Shahzad set alight Nagpur's VCA Stadium with his swashbuckling batting. The portly 28-year-old hit Tendai Chatara for four successive boundaries after a quiet opening over, forcing the pacer off attack. Donald Tiripano was pressed into service but there was no respite from Shahzad who hit him for three successive fours. Shahzad greeted left-arm spinner Sean Williams by hitting his first delivery for a six but fell in the same over after a 23-ball blitz attempting a reverse sweep.
Images from Day 1 of the one-off Test, between India and Afghanistan, in Bengaluru, on Thursday.
Images from the World Cup Pool A match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Dunedin on Sunday
Talented wicketkeeper-batsman Umar Akmal notched up a breezy century under pressure before the bowlers came to the party and guided Pakistan to a bonus-point 72-run victory over Afghanistan in the Asia Cup.
India enjoys close relations with Afghanistan and both accuse common neighbour Pakistan of not doing enough to stop Islamist militants operating on their territory.
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.
Afghanistan scripted a new story in annuls of cricketing history after qualifying for the World T20 tournament proper on Saturday.
Pakistan fought back from a precarious position to beat Afghanistan by 72 runs, and also claim a bonus point, in the Asia Cup match in Fatullah on Thursday. Thanks to wicketkeeper-batsman Umar Akmal, who scored an unbeaten 102 off 89 balls, they were able to recover from 117 for six inside 30 overs and put up a solid 248 for 8. In reply, minnows Afghanistan were dismissed for 176 in 47.2 overs. A look at the statistical highlights from the match.
Afghanistan mystery spinner Mujeeb Zadran says tricks of the trade learnt from Ravichandran Ashwin in this season's Indian Premier League will come in handy during his team's inaugural Test against India, starting in Bengaluru from Thursday.
Rohit Sharma smashed 150 as India outclassed minnows Afghanistan by 153 runs in the World Cup warm-up match in Adelaide.
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