Sports

Salman, Rauf too good for Afghanistan in tri-series opener

Published

10 months ago

2025/08/30

Priyan

Salman Agha's half-century powered Pakistan to a tall total [Cricinfo]

An unbeaten half-century from captain Salman Agha and a disciplined quartet of bowlers saw Pakistan ease to a 39-run victory in the first game of the tri-series against Afghanistan. After batting first on a surface curiously supportive of quick runs in Sharjah, Pakistan flew out of the blocks before Rashid Khan dragged them back after the powerplay.

But their game plan encourages attack right through the innings, and equipped with a deep batting line-up, they had the ammunition to keep going hard till the end. It was best summed up by their Nos. 6, 7 and 8 – Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Haris and Faheem Ashraf – combining to score 50 runs in 29 balls.

Afghanistan’s pursuit combined purpose with craft, tempering their strokeplay in favour of faithfully tailgating the required rate Rahmanullah Gurbaz had the license to take advantage of the powerplay, but with Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal more cautious, it was clear Afghanistan were trusting their lower order to make up if they fell behind.

It worked nicely until the 11th over, but that plan was blown to shreds with a double-wicket maiden from Haris Rauf in the 12th over which triggered an Afghanistan capitulation. It saw them lose five wickets for four runs in 16 balls, and though Rashid gave his side fleeting hope with a delightfully entertaining 16-ball 39, Afghanistan had drifted far out of the game to swim their way back into it.

Afghanistan had the better of all Pakistan batters in the powerplay bar one, and that was the one who counted. Sahibzada Farhan had made up his mind he would take on Fazalhaq Farooqi straight from the outside, the intent crystallised into action when he drove him back over his head off the game’s fourth ball. A four followed that six, before Azmatullah Omarzai was greeted with another piledriver over midwicket.

He was gone by the 15th ball of the game when Omarzai strangled him down leg to short fine, but there had been time enough to smash his way to 21 off 10 balls. Afghanistan’s spinners applied the squeeze effectively for the next eight overs as Pakistan kept losing wickets and scored just 51 in that period, but the buffer Farhan had provided his side meant they hadn’t lost too much ground before the picked up the pace again.

Rashid is arguably the best T20I bowler, while Salman is inarguably not the best T20I batter. However, in this battle of captains, it was the less fancied Pakistan skipper who landed all the telling blows. Having dispatched a couple of boundaries off Fareed Ahmad in the previous over, he took on Afghanistan’s talisman, slapping a couple of on-side sixes in an over that leaked 17.

Mohammad Nawaz, watching from the other end, would join the action when Omarzai returned, taking his captain’s lead and slapping a couple of sixes in that 15th over. Salman continued along, and though that kind of explosiveness wasn’t an ever-present, he still finished with an unbeaten 53 off 36 by the end of the innings; Pakistan scored 99 in the final 9 overs, and it had all begun with Salman’s unlikely takedown of an Afghan superstar.

Well-managed chases are not Afghanistan’s renowned strength, but you could have been fooled for thinking otherwise halfway through the chase. Atal and Darwish Rasooli had struck up a menacing partnership, and Rashid’s side were nicely placed at 93 for 2 with nine overs in which to launch their onslaught.

Until Rauf returned to the attack. A couple of furious hard length deliveries that flirted with the 150kph mark elicited no runs, and as the pressure built, Atal grew desperate. He lashed out at a slower ball only to find Shaheen Afridi at deep third. Karim Janat failed to get bat on ball on the first two deliveries and then smeared one to deep square leg, bringing down the curtain on a double-wicket maiden.

Afghanistan imploded over the next few minutes. Sufiyan Maqeem removed Rasooli the following delivery, and Mohammad Nabi in his next over. Mohammad Nawaz accounted for Omarzai as he charged down the pitch leaving Haris with a straightforward stumping. From the 12th to the 16th over, Afghanistan scored a mere 6 runs in 24 balls and lost five wickets. It left Rashid’s ensuing onslaught as light entertainment in an already lost cause.

Brief scores:
Pakistan 182 for 7 in 20 overs (Salman Agha 53*, Sahibzada Farhan 21, Saim Ayub 14, Fakhar Zaman 20, Mohammad Nawaz 21,Mohammad Harris 15, Faheem Ashraf 14; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 1-22, Azmatullah Omarzai 1-28, Mohammad Nabi 1-18, Rashid Khan 1-26, Fareed Ahmad 2-47) beat Afghanistan 143 in 19.5 overs (Rashid Khan 39, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 38, Sediqullah Atal 23, Darwish Rasooli 21; Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-21, Mohammad Nawaz 2-23, Haris Rauf 4-31, Sufiyan Muqeem 2-25) by 39 runs

[Cricinfo]

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Lutkenhaus, 17, upsets Olympic champion Wanyonyi in Oslo

Published

8 hours ago

2026/06/11

Priyan

Wanyonyi (left) finished behind Lutkenhaus (right) in Oslo [BBC]

American teenager Cooper Lutkenhaus produced a stunning performance to hold off Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi in the men’s 800m at the Diamond League meeting in Norway.

The 17-year-old crossed the line in a personal best of one minute and 42.08 seconds to edge out the Kenyan by one hundredth of a second in Oslo, despite Wanyonyi recording his fastest time of the season (1:42.09).

Lutkenhaus was unbeaten in his five previous 800m finals this year, having claimed gold at the World Indoor Championships and become the Diamond League’s youngest ever winner on his debut in Stockholm last weekend.

“This boy [Lutkenhaus] is in a good shape,” said the 21-year-old Wanyonyi, who missed the event in Sweden following the birth of his first child.

“Can you believe that as an Olympic champion, you are trying to knock down a 17-year-old boy?

“I started the race in front and after 600m to go, I tried to see who is coming to push me. Then I saw him passing me so then I tried to respond. But my target today was to run my season best, to improve.”

British sprinter Amy Hunt placed second in the women’s 100m in 10.99 seconds, with St Lucia’s Olympic champion Julien Alfred taking victory in a time of 10.76.

Amber Anning was fourth in the women’s 400m as Norway’s Henriette Jaeger enjoyed success, while her fellow Briton, Jake Wightman, finished fifth in the Dream Mile behind Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot.

There was Ethiopian dominance in the women’s 3,000m race, with Freweyni Hailu, Likina Amebaw, Senayet Getachew and Hawi Abera occupying the top four positions.

Hailu recorded the fastest time in the world this year, crossing the line in 8:24.22, while GB pair Megan Keith and Innes Fitzgerald finished seventh and ninth respectively.

In the final event of the evening, home favourite Karsten Warholm’s time of 47.40 was only enough to earn the Swede second place behind Brazilian rival Alison dos Santos (46.89) in the men’s 400m hurdles.

[BBC Sports]

Sports

From UAE heartbreak to fresh hope in England

Published

10 hours ago

2026/06/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka’s fortunes depend heavily on their captain Chamari Atapattu. She’s seen taking part in religious observances prior to the team’s departure to the UK last week.

Sri Lanka will open their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign against hosts England when the 12-nation tournament gets underway in Birmingham on Friday. The event carries a prize purse of USD 8.7 million, underlining the remarkable growth of the women’s game in recent years.

Every participating team is guaranteed a minimum of USD 250,000, even if they fail to win a game during the group stage.

Sri Lanka have been drawn in Group A alongside hosts England, defending champions New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland and West Indies. The top two teams qualify for the semi-finals.

The islanders endured a miserable campaign at the previous Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, losing all four of their group games. More concerning than the defeats themselves were the margins of those losses. Since then, however, the side has made significant progress and, under new Head Coach Jamie Siddons, there is a renewed sense of belief within the camp.

Sri Lanka arrived in Birmingham after comprehensive warm-up victories over Pakistan and the Netherlands in Derby. The team was scheduled to train under lights at Edgbaston on Wednesday evening as preparations entered the final phase.

Having qualified for the tournament by virtue of their international ranking, Sri Lanka will be quietly confident of giving a good account of themselves.

Following the opening game in Birmingham, they will travel to Southampton, Bristol and Manchester for the remainder of the group stage. A trip to London will materialise only if they progress to the knockout rounds.

Since the last World Cup, Sri Lanka have played a considerable amount of bilateral cricket and also underwent an intensive residential camp in Pallekele in the lead-up to the tournament.

Several exciting young players have emerged over the last year, adding fresh energy to the side and raising expectations. The biggest challenge, however, will be adapting to English conditions.

Australia remain the most successful team in the tournament’s history, having lifted the trophy six times. England, West Indies and New Zealand have each won the title once.

Rex Clementine in Birmingham

Sports

Gaikwad 101 trumps Arachchige 74 as India A win thriller against Sri Lanka A

Published

10 hours ago

2026/06/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sahan Arachchige's 74 was not enough as Sri Lanka A collapsed in the chase [SLC]

India A began their tour of Sri Lanka with a nervy eight run win against the hosts in Dambulla. A series that has been given the added edge by the presence of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi opened under hot weather on a two-paced surface. The stroke-making on the pitch was anything but easy. Here’s a look back at the match which India A eventually snatched from the jaws of defeat.

There had been a frenzy around him ever since he arrived in Sri Lanka three days ago. Fans, officials and media alike clamoured for a glimpse of him. Their first sighting of the 15-year-old in action was brief. Yet, it offered a tantalising glimpse of what they could expect.

After Prabhsimran Singh played out a first-over maiden, Sooryavanshi got off the mark with a boundary off his very first ball – a slap over the infield. Three fours followed in a 12-ball knock that yielded 14 runs. His innings ended in the fourth over when an attempted loft off seamer Mohamed Shiraz flew flat to mid-off, where captain Sahan Arachchige pulled off a superb diving catch.

Sooryavanshi has three more group games, followed by a final if India A qualify, to make amends before he flies to Ireland. There, he will link up with the senior Indian team for the T20I series.

Rutrraj Gaikwad wasn’t even in the original squad, but a hamstring injury to Riyan Parag earned him a late call-up to Sri Lanka, and unexpectedly, the vice-captaincy. On Tuesday, he made the most of that opportunity, showing he could thrive in the No. 4 role in one-day cricket with a measured 114-ball 101 that anchored India A’s 277.

It was another reminder of Gaikwad’s pedigree in the format. His only ODI century for India came in his most recent appearance, against South Africa in December 2025, when he shared a 195-run stand with Virat Kohli in Raipur. However, this innings was different.

On a slow surface where Sri Lanka A’s spinners controlled much of the middle overs, Gaikwad prioritised strike rotation over boundary-hitting. He struck just six fours and three sixes, yet dominated a 150-run fourth-wicket partnership with captain Tilak Varma.

Gaikwad was reprieved on 49, when Niroshan Dickwella missed a straightforward stumping opportunity off legspinner Vijaykanth Viyaskanth. Gaikwad kicked his innings into high gear thereafter by hitting the next ball, a full toss, for six over deep midwicket to bring up his half-century.

The hundred brought a unique record: it was his 21st List A century, achieved in just his 96th match, making him the fastest player to reach the mark. Pakistan’s Khurram Manzoor, the previous quickest, needed 130 matches.

India’s search for a seam-bowling allrounder beyond Hardik Pandya has largely centred on Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shivam Dube. But there is growing promise in Suryansh Shedge. The Mumbai allrounder provided the finishing touches to India A’s innings with an unbeaten 26 off 14 balls.

Then, with the ball, Shedge extracted appreciable seam movement and bounce in a lively opening spell, troubling Sri Lanka A’s batters despite finishing wicketless with 8-0-41-0. If he can bowl as consistently as he did here, he will continue to strengthen his case after a solid IPL 2026.

Anukul Roy, meanwhile, showed why he remains a highly-rated spin option. The left-arm spinner returned 2 for 49 from his ten overs, but the figures only partly reflected his impact. He broke an 86-run stand by enticing Sadeera Samarawickrama into a mistimed loft to long-on, before dismissing Ravindu Fernando caught and bowled off a leading edge in his next over. Those strikes led Sri Lanka A from cruise control to full-blown turbulence. They were eventually bowled out for 269 in the 49th over.

SCORES:

INDIA A

277/6 in 50 overs [Priyansh Arya 32, Rutraj Gaikwad 101, Tilak Varma 60; Mohamed Shiraz 2-67] beat SRI LANKA A 269 in 48.5 overs [Niroshan Dickwella 47, Avishka Fernando 45, Sadeera Samarawickrama 46, Sahan Arachchige 74; Arshad Khan 2-24, Anukul Roy 2-49, Ayush Badoni 2-46, Vipraj Nigam 2-46] by 8 runs