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Gurbaz, Ibrahim and Farooqi hand Uganda a thrashing
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran struck fifties in the second -highest opening stand in T20 World Cup history and Fazalhaq Farooki took his maiden five-wicket haul in T20Is as Afghanistan crushed debutants Uganda by 125 runs in their Group C game of the T20 World Cup in Guyana. Afghanistan’s 183 for 5 was too much for Uganda, who were bowled out for 58 runs in 16 overs.
Farooqi’s five-for apart, Naveen-ul-Haq and captain Rashid Khan picked up two wickets each as Afghanistan ruined Uganda’s introduction to cricket’s biggest event. Uganda would, however, take heart from their comeback with the ball. Afghanistan lost 5 for 31 in the last six overs of their innings to finish well below 200. Uganda captain Brian Masaba, who bowls spin, and fast bowler Cosmas Kyewuta took two wickets each.
Before the collapse, Gurbaz and Ibrahim had blasted 18 boundaries in the first 14 overs. Gurbaz made his 76 off 45 balls with four sixes and as many fours, while Ibrahim struck nine fours and a six in his 46-ball 70.
Gurbaz got things going when he lofted left-arm spinner Alpesh Ramjani to the stand beyond the long-off boundary off the second ball of the innings. Ibrahim struck Kyewuta through mid-on for his first boundary before wicketkeeper Simon Ssesazi dropped him on 16 off Ramjani.
He capitalised on the chance, hitting Dinesh Nakrani for four successive boundaries in the sixth over as Afghanistan ended the powerplay on 66 for 0. Gurbaz took his sixes tally to four when he struck Henry Ssenyondo for two maximums in consecutive overs. He brought up his eighth T20I fifty in the ninth over, before Ibrahim brought up their century stand in the following over.
Ibrahim also reached his seventh fifty in T20Is before launching into Bilal Hassan for his first six, a proper slog over midwicket. It was a tough 14th over for Hassan, who conceded five wides and then was hit for a four off a no-ball. He ended up giving away 25 runs in the over, after which Afghanistan lost their way.
Ibrahim fell in the 15th over to end his 154-run stand with Gurbaz, when he missed a tossed-up ball from Masaba. Ramjani then had Gurbaz hole out to deep square leg in the following over.
Masaba removed Najibullah Zadran in the 17th over, Nakrani taking the catch at the deep square leg boundary, before Kyewuta picked up his two wickets. He had Gulbadin Naib caught at long-on for four, and then in the final over, Azmatullah Omarzai skied one to short third.
It was a fine comeback from Uganda after they conceded at 10.85 in the first 14 overs. They didn’t give away a single boundary in the last six overs of the innings, the first such instance in the T20 World Cup.
Farooqi and Naveen took two wickets each in the powerplay as Uganda slipped to 18 for 5. Farooqi removed Ronak Patel and Roger Mukasa off consecutive deliveries in the first over. Both deliveries were fast and swung in, leaving the two batters with little time to bring down their bat. Riazat Ali Shah kept out the yorker on the hat-trick ball but there was no respite for Uganda.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman had Ssesazi caught at short fine leg, before Naveen had Nakrani bowled off his inside edge in the fifth over. One ball later, Ramjani edged Naveen to Naib at first slip. It was Uganda’s first appearance at a World Cup, and Afghanistan underlined the gulf between the two sides.
Riazat and Robinson Obuya kept Afghanistan at bay for 7.3 overs as they added 29 runs for the sixth wicket. But the former’s 34-ball vigil ended when Farooqi, back into the attack for his third over, cleaned him up. He had captain Masaba caught behind off the next ball before Obuya, Uganda’s top scorer on the day with 14 runs, was also caught behind in the same over to hand Farooqi his five-for. Rashid took the two remaining wickets, trapping Hassan lbw and bowling Ssenyondo next ball.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan 183/5 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 76, Ibrahim Zadran 70; Alpesh Ramjani 1-33, Brian Masaba 2-21, Cosmas Kyewuta 2-25) beat Uganda 58 in 16 overs (Robinson Obuya 14; Fazalhaq Farooqi 5-09, Mujeeb ur Rahman 1-16, Naveen ul Haq 2-04, Rashid Khan 2-12) by 125 runs
[Cricinfo]
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Heavy showers about (100-150) mm are likely at some places in the Central, Sabaragamuwa, Uva and Southern provinces
WEATHER FORECAST FOR 13 October 2026
Issued at 2.00 p.m. on 12 October 2026 by the Department of Meteorology
A low-pressure area may form over the southeastern Bay of Bengal by 13 October.
Under the influence of this system, an increase in rainfall is expected over the island and the deep and shallow sea areas around the island during the next few days from tomorrow (13).
The general public, as well as the naval and fishing communities, are requested to be attentive to the future forecasts and bulletins issued by the Department of Meteorology in this regard.
Heavy showers about (100-150) mm are likely at some places in the Central, Sabaragamuwa, Uva and Southern provinces.
Fairly heavy showers above 75 mm are likely at some places in the other areas of the island. Showers or thundershowers will occur in most parts of the island.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
Misty conditions can be expected at some places in the Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces during the early hours of the morning.
Maaz Sadaqat crashed 96 off 51,Sahibzada Farhan clobbered 73 off 44, and Pakistan scorched their way through the last 12 overs of their innings to mount a fearsome total of 215 for 3. Pakistan reaped 156 runs just in the last 12 overs of their innings, as a 73-run stand between Sadaqat and Farhan was followed by a manic 72-run partnership between Sadaqat and Hasan Nawaz.
Sri Lanka’s batting was woeful in response. They slumped to 64 for 5 by the 11th over, with none of their top seven managing to get to 30. They limped to 133 for 7, having had their hopes of leveling the series wrecked by quicks Mohammad Imran and Salman Mirza, who took five wickets between them.
Sadaqat propels Pakistan into the stratosphere
The openers had laid a decent platform with Pakistan having got to 55 for 1 by the end of the seventh over. But it was Sadaqat who injected the energy that truly set Pakistan on course to their mammoth total. Having gone at less than a run a ball in his first eight balls, Sadaqat unleashed a spectacular lofted square drive off Eshan Malinga to collect his first six, before pumping the same bowler down the ground later in the 10th over.
Sadaqat would go on to clobber six further sixes and five further fours. The big hits tended to come down the ground, while his fours were more square of the wicket. Of the 125 runs Pakistan plundered in the second half of their innings, 79 off 40 came from Sadaqat, who pummeled both pace and spin with equal relish. Off the sixteenth over, bowled by Maheesh Theekshana, Sadaqat thumped three sixes in the arc between long on and midwicket.
Sadaqat, whose previous top score in three T20Is had been 50, could have gone to triple figures off the last ball of the innings, but holed out to deep cover instead, unable to quite find the power to lift a Malinga slower ball over the ropes. He had utterly dominated the middle and late overs, however.
Farhan sets the tone
On another flat Rawalpindi deck, Farhan made the first big charge, although he waited until spin came on to really get into high gear. Theekshana was one of his main victims as well. Farhan’s first six came from a slog sweep off Theekshana in the seventh over, before he launched the same bowler over wide long on and cow corner off successive balls in the ninth over. Getting to his 12th T20I fifty off the 31st ball he faced, Farhan began to aim big blows off the seamers as well. He was caught at deep third off the bowling of Dasun Shanaka, in the 15th over.
Sri Lanka stumble in the powerplay
An excellent Salman Mirza bouncer took the glove of Lahiru Udara in the first over, ending the innings of one of Sri Lanka’s few form batters for a mere five runs. And although Sineth Jayawardena – playing his first international in a full-strength Sri Lanka side – hit three consecutive boundaries in the third over, Sri Lanka were unable to build up any momentum in the powerplay. By the end of the sixth over, they had laboured to 35 for 2.
Imran’s spell lights up the middle overs
A full house in Rawalpindi was treated to some excellent fast bowling by Imran, who finished with the game’s best figures of 3 for 11 from his four overs. Having got Jayawardena to top-edge a desperate pull shot at the end of his second over, Imran had Kusal Mendis caught behind off a slower delivery, before two balls later (a wide in between), he took Sahan Arachchige’s edge with a quick delivery angled across the left-hander. Wicketkeeper Khawaja Nafay made two diving grabs to convert these chances in the eighth over.
All through his unbroken spell, Sri Lanka’s batter struggled to so much as hit Imran off the square, despite the good batting conditions on offer. Imran mixed up his pace, frequently going to slower balls, but his line and length control were also excellent through the spell. When he finished his unbroken spell at the end of the 10th over, Sri Lanka’s required rate had climbed past 15.
Chamindu Wickramasinghe and Theekshana struck some late boundaries, but by the time they came to the crease, Sri Lanka did not have a realistic shot at levelling this series. They lost by 82 runs in the end.
Scores:
Pakistan 215 for 3 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 73, Fakhar Zaman 22, Maaz Sadaqat 96, Hasan Nawaz 19*; Maheesh Theekshana 1-55, Eshan Malinga 1-41,Dasun Shanaka 1-30) beat Sri Lanka 133 for 7 (Sineth Jayawardena 22, Kamnbdu Mendis 23, Chamindu Wickremasinghe 29, Maheesh Theekshana 32*; Salman Mirza 2=28, Mohammad Imran 3-11, Saim Ayub 1-19, Shadab Khan 1-19) by 82 runs
[Cricinfo]
At least 139 people, including 15 children, have died and 84 are missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Djibouti, according to the United Nations migration agency.
In a statement on Sunday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) quoted survivors as saying that the incident happened near Guhere off Djibouti’s eastern coast in the Gulf of Aden near the Bab al-Mandeb strait from Thursday night to before dawn on Friday.
The boat was heading from Djibouti to Yemen with more than 300 people on board. More than 80 people – all Ethiopians – survived the shipwreck while Djiboutian search and rescue operations continued.
“Our teams are on the ground alongside local authorities to provide emergency assistance,” IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti Alexandre Coissac said, lamenting the “devastating loss of life”.
That number only includes those buried by authorities in Djibouti. Others have been buried by the migrants themselves but they won’t be added to the official count until authorities can verify the bodies, Alexandre Coissac, IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti, told the Associated Press.
“This tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by migrants along this migration corridor as they seek economic opportunities,” Coissac added.
[Aljazeera]
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