Samiullah Shenwari struck a gritty 96 to pave the way for Afghanistan's historic one-wicket win against Scotland.
Rajneesh Gupta highlights important numbers for the Afghanistan team from World Cups.
Samiullah Shenwari produced a brilliant rearguard action to guide Afghanistan to their first World Cup victory with a dramatic one-wicket win over Scotland in their Pool A clash in Dunedin on Thursday.
Afghanistan scripted a new story in annuls of cricketing history after qualifying for the World T20 tournament proper on Saturday.
Afghanistan kept their hopes alive for a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 when they defeated the West Indies by three wickets.
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 beat Kenya by seven wickets, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, to earn automatic qualification to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
Statistical highlights of the Asia Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh played at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, in Fatullah.
India suffered a shock 28-run defeat against Afghanistan but still qualified for the semi-finals of the Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Cup tournament for the under-23 cricket teams, in Singapore, on Thursday.
Photos of the World Cup Pool A game between Afghanistan and New Zealand being played in Napier
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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Five-time champions India ended their campaign in the Asia Cup with a consolation eight-wicket victory over debutants Afghanistan, in Mirpur, on Wednesday.
Rashid Khan produced another magical spell of spin bowling as Afghanistan wrapped up a six wicket win over Bangladesh to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20 series on Tuesday.
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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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.
The 19-year-old wonder spinner has gained 54 points to finish with 813 points, 80 more than second-placed Shadab Khan of Pakistan.
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.
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.
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.
When Kashmir willow sees biz boom and cricket raises Afghan hopes
Afghanistan scored 145 for six after electing to bat, a target which they defended riding on Rashid's brilliance.
Rashid came to bowl in the 11th over and put his team in a strong position straightaway by removing the experienced Mushfiqur Rahim (20) and Sabbir Rahman (0) off his first two deliveries. Bangladesh could not recover from the blow and ended at 122 all out in response to Afghanistan's 167 for eight.
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.
Asked to comment on India-Pakistan high voltage match, Inzamam-ul-Haq said with a smile: "I'm Afghan coach..."
Virat Kohli is the lone Indian male cricketer to be shortlisted for the LG ICC Awards 2014 after he was nominated for the ODI Cricketer of the Year category.
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 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.
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.
New Zealand are paying little attention to their World Cup rivals' form in the group stage of the tournament as every team that reaches the knockout rounds have potential match winners in the side, spinner Daniel Vettori said on Sunday.
Eight teams have formed some of the best combinations from a pool of 64 top cricketers in the players' draft for T10League -- the limited ten-over format cricket -- that will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the T20 series against England.
The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
Six months after Afghanistan qualified for its maiden appearance in the Cricket World Cup, its success story continues to make waves and the strife-torn country has now entered into the main ODI rankings table for the first time.
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.
England beat Afghanistan by 15 runs in a World Twenty20 Group One match at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Wednesday to keep alive their semi-finals hopes.
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.
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