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.
Images from the England-Afghanistan World Cup match in Manchester, on Tuesday.
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.'
Afghanistan gave away 35 extras, which proved to be Sri Lanka's second top scorer
Afghanistan fared only slightly better against defending champions Australia in their opener, losing by seven wickets, but Malinga is not taking them lightly.
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.
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.
Mahmudullah and Kayes lift Bangladesh to 249/7 after poor start
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.
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.
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.
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.
'To all the audiences watching these kinds of matches, this is only a cricket game. Just watch the cricket game. It's a sport'.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Images from the the T20 World Cup Super 12s match between Afghanistan and Namibia, in Abu Dhabi, on Sunday.
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
India vice-captain Rohit Sharma says R Ashwin's presence in the playing XI is always an advantage as the seasoned off-spinner is on the lookout for wickets at all times.
Images from Monday's World Cup match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, in Southampton.
None other than India skipper Virat Kohli acknowledged Afghanistan's rapid rise in the last four years.
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.
Kedar Jadhav claimed he never lost faith in India's bowlers to deliver victory in a last-over thriller with Afghanistan. Jadhav's careful half century, alongside captain Virat Kohli's 67, were the two highlights in a difficult day at the crease for India's batsmen in their latest ICC Men's Cricket World Cup clash at the Hampshire Bowl.
'I still don't know why I was ruled unfit when I was fit enough to play'
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.
Afghanistan's controversial campaign, marred by poor on and off-field decisions, has gone from bad to worse. They now face the onerous task of squaring off against a galaxy of world class players, whose performance graph is on the upswing.
Neesham, a batting all-rounder, rocked the Afghanistan innings by his incisive bowling and in the process returned with his career-best figures of 5/31 from his 10 overs. His earlier best was 4/42.
Thisara admitted his side were far from perfect after another batting disaster, he insisted they always knew they had a chance of success if their bowlers stepped up.
Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan by 34 runs in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup match at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Tuesday.
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 profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
Jasprit Bumrah in full flow is always a joy to watch, six or seven stuttering steps, a skip and a shuffle, followed by undiluted fire and fury.
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 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.
Rashid Khan opens up on the Afghanistan captaincy controversy and facing criticism against his bowling
This was Sri Lanka's second loss in as many matches, and, as a consequence, they have been knocked out of the tournament.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances