Sports
Nabi, Rashid turn the tables on Ireland to level series for Afghanistan
It was like using a cheat code in EA Sports Cricket. They seemed to be applied on Ireland’s new-ball bowlers Mark Adair and Josh Little, who wrecked Afghanistan despite their decision to bat first. With the score at 14 for 4 in the fourth over, the batters dismissed managed only 3, 5, 0 and 0. Then the user seemed to have pressed autoplay, and the computer helped Mohammad Nabi counterattack.
Nabi added 79 with opening batter Sediqullah Atal, who mostly kept playing and missing and mistiming. The partnership was ended when Atal was run out after struggling to 35 off 32 balls, even as Nabi went to smash 59 from 38. Rashid Khan then provided late fireworks by cracking 25 off 12 deliveries and taking Afghanistan to 152.
In reply, Ireland were 49 without loss after the final over of the powerplay started. But Mangeyalia Kharote broke that stand and struck again later while Rashid pocketed four wickets, as Afghanistan restricted Ireland to 142 and levelled the three-match series with one to play.
Almost every ball bowled by Little and Adair in the first two overs swung considerably, but they were accurate with line and length. However, a lack of luck meant only one Afghanistan wicket had fallen. Little got one to skid through to clean up Rahmanullah Gurbaz after Adair hit Atal’s off stump only for the bail to remain unmoved.
But Adair then struck back-to-back to end the third over. He had Ibrahim Zadran get a leading edge to mid-off before trapping Mohammad Ishaq in front. Replays indicated that the impact might have been outside off, as some luck seemed to even out. Adair also removed Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai in the death overs and finished with 3 for 27. Before that, Little had Azmatullah Omarzai caught behind for what was the batter’s second successive first-ball duck.
Nabi came in at No. 6, and punched his fourth ball for four to get off the mark. One over of the powerplay was still left, and Nabi pulled Little for six to keep going. But the boundaries kept coming even after the field spread. Nabi hacked Ben White, drove Gareth Delany and slashed Curtis Campher for four, leading Afghanistan’s rebuilding. They had pushed their way to 68 for 4 at the halfway stage.
But just after the drinks break, Nabi launched White for a six which went 90 degrees over the umpire’s head, while also calmly ticking over singles off the spinners. Atal was run out in the 14th over, but even that didn’t stop Nabi. He hit Campher for four in the same over, before smashing four and six off consecutive deliveries against White in the 15th. White had him caught two balls later, but by then, Nabi, who ended the day as Afghanistan’s leading run-scorer in T20Is, had laid the platform for Rashid.
Having demoted himself to No. 9, Rashid arrived with 21 balls left and the score at 119. He crashed Adair first ball for four to deep backward point, before attacking Barry McCarthy next over. Both the four and the six stood out in their own ways: the first was a swat wide of long-off after he made room and jumped down the pitch to a shortish ball, while the next was a no-look swipe over fine leg off a full toss, with the ball flying over the Sachin Tendulkar stand. Another four followed in the penultimate over, but more action from Rashid was due.
Ireland were sitting pretty at 68 for 1 halfway into the ninth over, when Rashid struck. He was on a hat-trick for the second game in a row after his return to action, as Lorcan Tucker paddle swept to short fine leg, and Harry Tector was bowled by the wrong ‘un. Rashid returned to bowl the 16th over, by which time Kharote had got rid of both set openers Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie.
The googly also got George Dockrell to start Rashid’s final over, and cleaned Adair up too two balls after. Ireland were seven down, and staring at defeat, which was delayed only by Delany’s late entertainment with the bat.
Scores:
Afghanistan 152 for 9 in 20 overs (Sediqullah Atal 35, Mohammad Nabi 59, Rashid Khan 25; Mark Adair 3-27, Josh Little 2-20, Barry McCarthy 2-33, Ben White 1-32) beat Ireland 142 for 8 in 20 overs (Andy Balbirnie 45, Paul Stirling 24, Gareth Delany 39: Fazalhaq Farooki 1-48, Rashid Khan 4-14, Nangeyalia Kharote 2-23, Mohammad Nabi 1-14) by 10 runs
[Cricbuzz]
Former Sri Lanka head coach Mickey Arthur has voiced disappointment over remarks made by Chairman of Selectors Pramodya Wickramasinghe, who last week claimed that Arthur was reluctant to include a young Pathum Nissanka during Sri Lanka’s tour of the Caribbean in 2021.
In his first media briefing, Wickramasinghe said it was he who pushed for Nissanka’s inclusion despite Arthur’s reservations. The former coach has flatly denied the allegation, calling it wide of the mark.
“I am very disappointed with Pramodya’s comments,” Arthur told Telecom Asia Sport. “The right people know exactly how I felt about Pathum. There was never any doubt that he was our future. I don’t want any credit for Pathum’s success. That belongs entirely to his hard work. I simply gave him an opportunity because the talent was impossible to ignore.”
Arthur said Nissanka’s domestic form had left little room for debate. “He was scoring runs for fun and the sheer weight of them made it impossible not to take a look. Once he joined the squad on tour, his attitude and work ethic were truly remarkable. From that moment, there was no doubt this bloke was going places,” Arthur added.
Even before Nissanka’s elevation to the senior side, Arthur had publicly spoken of his admiration for young prospects such as Nissanka and Charith Asalanka, stressing the importance of giving emerging players a long rope. His view was simple: once talent is identified and the attitude checks out, selectors and team management must back those players through thick and thin.
Arthur arrived in Sri Lanka with a formidable résumé, having coached South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. He placed a premium on fitness and fielding and under his watch a team in transition began to show signs of turning the corner. At the end of his tenure, Arthur opted not to renew his contract and instead took up a stint in English county cricket with Derbyshire.
As for Nissanka, he has scarcely put a foot wrong since breaking into the side. There was a Test hundred on debut in the West Indies, followed last year by a match-winning unbeaten century against England at The Oval on a lively seaming pitch. In between, he made history by becoming the first Sri Lankan to score a double hundred in ODIs. Last week, he was snapped up by Delhi Capitals at the IPL auction.
Nissanka is currently ranked third in T20 internationals and is knocking on the door of the top ten in both Tests and ODIs.
73rd National Badminton Championship
Defending champions Viren Nettasinghe and Ranithma Liyanage made a fitting end to their campaigns of the 2025 season, by defending the Men’s and Women’s Open Singles titles as Varangana Jayawardana and Rashmi Mudalige clinched the Women’s Open Doubles title at the 73rd National Badminton Championship, concluded at the S. Thomas’ College Indoor Sports Complex, Mount Lavinia on Wednesday (24).
Viren clinically overcame each of his opponents from the Round of 32, all in straight sets, to reach the final. The country’s top Men’s Singles shuttler continued his form against Rasindu Hendahewa in the final, winning in straight sets to defend the title. Viren defeated Rasindu 21-10 and 21-14 to win his second national title in style.
Ranithma aptly defended her Women’s Open Singles title by recording a comfortable straight sets win against Rashmi Mudalige in an absorbing final that lasted nearly 45 minutes. Though the title decider stretched way longer than anticipated, Ranithma managed to seal the victory by recording set wins of 21-12 and 21-18 to claim the national title for the second year running.
Fourth seed pair Sanuda Ariyasinghe and Thisath Rupathunga created an upset by toppling top seeds Oshamika Karunarathne and Thulith Palliyaguru in a lengthy final that went down to the wire in the Men’s Open Doubles. Sanuda and Thisath won the first set 21-15, but the top pair bounced back to level the game one-all with a 21-18 win. But the gritty pair of Sanuda and Thisath maintained their composure to overcome the favourites 21-15 in the decider and claim the Men’s Open Doubles title.
Varangana Jayawardana and Rashmi Mudalige completed a successful campaign to defend the Women’s Open Doubles title from last year, this time overcoming the aspiring pair of Dilni Ambalangodage and Ranumi Manage in straight sets. Varangana and Rashmi remained unbeaten throughout, as they ended the unblemished run of Dilni and Ranumi with set wins of 21-13 and 21-18.
The Mixed Open Doubles title was claimed by Thulith Palliyaguru and Panchali Adhikari, who battled for 45 minutes to overcome Aashinsa Herath and Rashmi Mudalige 2-1 in the final. After conceding the first set by 12-21, Thulith and Panchali regrouped to claim the next two sets 21-18 and 21-15.
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