Bangladesh eye an improved performance from their batters in their 2nd group match against Afghanistan on Sunday in the Asia Cup 2023.
IMAGES from the Asia Cup match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan played in Lahore on Sunday
Afghanistan have come very close to a maiden win at this World Cup but skipper Gulbadin Naib has told the batsmen it is their responsibility if the team is to break that duck.
'We've put ourselves in this situation but hopefully the Sri Lankans can do the job for us.'
IMAGES from the Group 1 Super 8 match, played between India and Afghanistan, in Barbados, on Thursday.
Virat Kohli will be expected to hit his straps after a lean run
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.
No other spinner headed into the World Cup with a burden of expectation heavier than the one on Rashid Khan's shoulders. But seven matches into the tournament and the poster boy of Afghan cricket is buckling under the weight.
With the series already in the bag, India will be eager to perfect their freshly-baked T20 template as a team and hope that skipper Rohit Sharma's bat finally fires when they face Afghanistan in the third and last match of the rubber in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2024 after Game 54.
Images from the T20 World Cup match between Afghanistan and New Zealand, in Abu Dhabi, on Sunday.
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.
Rohit Sharma did practically everything right in the T20 WC: He batted brilliantly, he captained even more capably, but he failed to top the most valuable player table. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2024.
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.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2024 after Game 48.
Afghanistan fared only slightly better against defending champions Australia in their opener, losing by seven wickets, but Malinga is not taking them lightly.
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Rohit, who will also captain the side, will be expected to carry on with his ultra aggressive approach in the powerplay like he showed in the ODI World Cup.
Veteran Indian spinner Ashwin scalped the wickets of Gulbadin Naib and Najibullah Zadran and gave away just 14 runs in his entire spell, as India's thrashed Afghanistan by 66 runs in a Group 2 match of the Super 12 stage in the T20 World Cup, at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, on Wednesday..
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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.
England cruised to a nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan in their final World Cup warm-up at The Oval on Monday after a Jofra Archer-led bowling attack restricted the underdogs to 160.
West Indies won the battle of the ICC World Cup's basement dwellers, beating Afghanistan by 23 runs in their final group match at Headingley on Thursday.
Abhishek Porel and Tristan Stubbs struck half-centuries for Delhi Capitals in their final league game of the season.
Images from Monday's World Cup match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, in Southampton.
Rashid Khan opens up on the Afghanistan captaincy controversy and facing criticism against his bowling
Simmons, who took over the position in December 2017, said he has achieved his target of taking Afghanistan to the World Cup and the time is ripe for him to leave.
A win for New Zealand against Afghanistan would end India's hopes of advancing to the semi-finals at the T20 World Cup.
'I was confident pre-tournament itself that he would deliver when needed.'
None other than India skipper Virat Kohli acknowledged Afghanistan's rapid rise in the last four years.
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.
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.
Disappointed with India's slow batting in Saturday's World Cup match against Afghanistan, batting icon Sachin Tendulkar said the middle-order batsmen, particularly Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav, lacked positive intent.
Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi are a spin-bowling unit the equal of any in the world
Opting to bat after winning the toss, India struggled on a slow pitch and crawled to 224-8 with Virat Kohli (67) and Kedar Jadhav (52) managing half-centuries against a disciplined Afghan attack.
Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan by 34 runs in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup match at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Tuesday.
India finally made their presence felt as they thrashed Afghanistan by 66 runs on Wednesday to keep alive their slim hopes of reaching the Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals.
Bangladesh spinners, led by Shakib Al Hasan, guided their side to a thumping nine-wicket win against Afghanistan in their Qualifying Group A match of the ICC World T20 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Sunday. Later, Debutants Nepal produced a dominating all-round performance to crush Hong Kong by 80 runs in another qualifying Group A match.
