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.
Chasing a competitive 258 for victory, Pakistan overhauled the target with just three balls to spare with former captain Shoaib Malik (51 off 43 balls) getting the winning runs.
Afghanistan scored 145 for six after electing to bat, a target which they defended riding on Rashid's brilliance.
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.
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.
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.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify the Most Valuable Players of World Cup 2019.
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.
With Jadeja almost clinching victory with a boundary and Khaleel Ahmed scampering home for his life to tie the scores, only a single was all that was required off two deliveries.
Every person was tested 72 hours before they travelled in order to ensure that all members of the party were travelling virus free.
'A collapsing Pakistan may well unleash its nuclear weapons as the last throw of the dice. With a nuclear arsenal of over 50 bombs, even a regional nuclear exchange can devastate the world.'
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.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify the Most Valuable Players at World Cup 2019.
Manish Pandey continued his good form as India 'A' outclassed Afghanistan 'A' by 113 runs.
Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor got some valuable time at the wicket as New Zealand did what they needed to looking ahead to the World Cup quarter-finals with a six-wicket victory over Afghanistan at McLean Park on Sunday.
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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.
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.
Riding high on contrasting half-centuries from Shakib al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh crushed Afghanistan by 105 runs in their opening Pool A match of the World Cup in Canberra.
The International Cricket Council released the provisional squads of the 12 teams for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Friday. However, co-hosts Australia and minnows Ireland decided against releasing the provisional list although they submitted 30 names to the parent body within the stipulated deadline.
England brought an end to their miserable World Cup campaign with a nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan under the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-disrupted final Pool A match at Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.
Penpix of the Afghanistan squad for the 2015 cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the fascinating career numbers of players in the World Cup.
Sri Lanka won the just-concluded Asia Cup, but none of their players figure in Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji's most valuable player index. Check it out.
Photos of the World Cup Pool A game between Afghanistan and New Zealand being played in Napier
Images from the World Cup Pool A match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Dunedin on Sunday
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
India's T20 World Cup challenge has ended. But it is likely that Virat Kohli (MVPI of 338) will go on to become the tournament's most valuable player because he enjoys a lead of 109 runs over second-placed Joe Root (229).
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.
India's batting sensation Virat Kohli, named player of the tournament, is also the most valuable player of World T20 2016. With a fifty and two wickets, England's Joe Root is just behind him.
As the top 10 teams prepare to battle for the World T20 crown, Rajneesh Gupta breaks down each squad's T20 performance and their showing in previous editions of the event.
Featuring India, the West Indies, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan.
'It was a mission undertaken in darkness in every sense -- literally, because Afghanistan had no electricity at that time; and, metaphorically because Delhi historically dealt only with the Pashtuns of Afghanistan and the foreign ministry's vast archives had nothing to offer on the culture and politics of the northern tribes in the Hindu Kush.'
