Men's cricket team clinched the gold medal on its Asian Games debut after their final against Afghanistan was called off due to rain
Afghanistan defeated Hong Kong by six wickets for their second straight win in the ICC World T20 qualifier in Nagpur on Thursday.
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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.
A couple of losses for hosts England has only brightened the 1992 winners' prospects of a semi-final berth.
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.
Afghanistan's former coach Lalchand Rajput believes that they can "upset some of the top teams" in mega tournament, primarily banking on their spinners.
Eager to keep their semi-final hopes alive, a desperate Bangladesh will have their work cut out when they take on a spirited Afghanistan in a do-or-die World Cup encounter in Southampton on Monday. England's defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka on Friday breathed air into Bangladesh's hopes of securing a semi-final berth and the 'Tigers' will be keen on making the most of the situation starting with a win over the bottom-placed Afghanistan.
Images from the England-Afghanistan World Cup match in Manchester, on Tuesday.
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.
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.
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.
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.
South Africa won their first game at the World Cup, beating Afghanistan by nine wickets (DLS). Imran Tahir finished with figures of 4 for 29, the best figures by a spinner in the tournament so
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.
Sri Lanka cruised into the final of the Asia Cup with a resounding 129-run victory over minnows Afghanistan, at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Bangladesh, on Monday.
The series loss to South Africa notwithstanding, India held on to their second spot in the team list, while star batsman Virat Kohli rose up a rung to second in the batsmen's table of the latest ICC ODI cricket rankings.
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.
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.
England captain Eoin Morgan said the 57-run eight-wicket stand between Moeen Ali and David Willey proved to be the difference in his side's win against an ever-improving Afghanistan in a group match of the ICC World Twenty20 at the Feroze Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Wednesday.
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