Afghanistan defeat champions England in World Cup shock

Published at : 16 October 2023, 12:18 am
Afghanistan defeat champions England in World Cup shock
Photo: Collected

Afghanistan pulled off one of the greatest World Cup shocks on Sunday when they defeated defending champions England by 69 runs in New Delhi, reports AFP.

Chasing 285 to win, after opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz had hit a blistering 80, England were bowled out for 215 despite Harry Brook's 66 with spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan claiming three wickets each.

"It's a very proud moment to be here in the World Cup beating the last champions, it is a good moment for the whole nation and the team. A wonderful performance for the bowlers and the batters," said Mujeeb.

The stunning upset gave Afghanistan just their second World Cup win to add to a lone victory over Scotland at the 2015 tournament.

They came into Sunday's clash having lost their opening two games in India and on a 14-match losing World Cup streak.

After Gurbaz and the recalled Ikram Alikhil, with 58, had given them a decent target to defend, Afghanistan's bowlers went to work, striking at regular intervals.

"It was disappointing, having won the toss and elected to bowl," said England skipper Jos Buttler.

"Congratulations to Afghanistan, they outplayed us today."

Jonny Bairstow (two) was lbw to Fazalhaq Farooqi in the second over before Joe Root was clean bowled by 22-year-old man of the match Mujeeb for 11.

Mohammad Nabi got rid of Dawid Malan, who made 140 against Bangladesh, for 32 to precipitate a slide which saw England slump to 138-6.

Buttler was clean bowled by seamer Naveen-ul-Haq for nine, Rashid Khan had Liam Livingstone lbw on 10 before Nabi also dismissed Sam Curran (10).

England were tied down, at one stage going more than eight overs without hitting a boundary until Brook managed the team's lone six of the innings in the 31st over.

Mujeeb sent back Chris Woakes before effectively sealing the game in his next over, having Brook caught behind by Alikhil with England at 169-8.

Brook's 66 came off 61 balls with seven fours and a six.

Late fireworks from Adil Rashid (20), Reece Topley (15) and Mark Wood (18) only served to take England past the 200-mark.

Earlier, Gurbaz, 21, piled up his runs off 57 balls with eight fours and four sixes to register his eighth score in excess of fifty in his ODI career.

However, he was furious that he was unable to go on to make a sixth century when he was involved in a disastrous run-out mix-up with captain Hashmatullah Shahidi in the 19th over.

Gurbaz failed to make his ground and Buttler whipped off the bails from a throw by substitute fielder David Willey.
- Gurbaz run-out anger -

An angry Gurbaz smashed his bat into a chair as he departed with his team on 122-3.

Gurbaz had needed just 33 balls to get to his half-century as Afghanistan, put into bat, stormed to 100 without loss from 77 deliveries.

Once Gurbaz was dismissed, England's spinners dragged the champions back into the contest in the middle overs.

The impressive Adil Rashid finished with 3-42 from his 10 overs having initially broken Afghanistan's 114-run opening stand when he had Ibrahim Zadran (28) caught.

But Alikhil chimed in with a 66-ball 58 after surviving being hit on the shoulder by a 147 km/h delivery from fast bowler Mark Wood.

Mujeeb added 28 to the total off 16 balls as Afghanistan finished strongly.

England's seamers endured a day to forget with Sam Curran conceding 46 runs off four overs and new ball bowler Chris Woakes coughing up 41 off his four.

England went into Sunday's game after a loss to New Zealand and victory over Bangladesh while Afghanistan suffered heavy defeats by six wickets to Bangladesh and eight wickets to India.

Mushfiqur to play for Fortune Barishal in BPL 2024

Published at : 24 September 2023, 03:42 pm
Mushfiqur to play for Fortune Barishal in BPL 2024

Bangladeshi wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim is set to feature for Fortune Barishal in the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

 

Mushfiqur had played for Sylhet Strikers in the last edition. His price was fixed at 80 lakhs in the players' draft according to the category. Which means he was in 'A' category.

The top category player will play along with other star players like Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Khaled Ahmed in Fortune Barishal.

Neymar quits PSG to sign for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal

Published at : 20 September 2023, 05:06 pm
Neymar quits PSG to sign for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal

Neymar said he was relishing “new challenges and opportunities in new places” after he joined Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal Tuesday, becoming the latest big name lured to the oil-rich Gulf state.

The Brazil forward, 31, ends a six-year stay in the French capital and follows in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane in swapping Europe for the Middle East.

“I have achieved a lot in Europe and enjoyed special times, but I have always wanted to be a global player and test myself with new challenges and opportunities in new places,” Neymar said in a statement from the Saudi Pro League.

“I want to write new sporting history, and the Saudi Pro League has tremendous energy and quality players at the moment,” he added.

Neymar ‘in negotiations’ over Saudi move as Mbappe returns to PSG good books

Published at : 20 September 2023, 05:05 pm
Neymar ‘in negotiations’ over Saudi move as Mbappe returns to PSG good books

Neymar was “in negotiations” on Sunday to become the latest football superstar to decamp for Saudi Arabia, leaving Paris Saint-Germain just as Kylian Mbappe was brought back in from the cold by the French champions.

A source close to PSG told AFP that 31-year-old Neymar “no longer figures in the club or manager’s plans” with the Brazilian immediately linked to Al-Hilal in the Gulf kingdom.

Another source in Saudi Arabia said that “direct negotiations” between Neymar’s agents and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) were ongoing.

PSG get better of Dortmund in Champions League opener

Published at : 20 September 2023, 05:03 pm
PSG get better of Dortmund in Champions League opener

Paris Saint-Germain got their Champions League campaign off to a winning start on Tuesday as a Kylian Mbappe penalty set them up for a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund at the Parc des Princes.

The French champions had dominated the first half without overly troubling the Dortmund defence, but they went ahead four minutes after the break when Mbappe scored a spot-kick awarded for a Niklas Suele handball.

Achraf Hakimi added a memorable second, and PSG could have won the Group F encounter by a far more handsome margin in the end.

The result immediately puts them in control of the group, after AC Milan and Newcastle United drew 0-0 earlier, and coach Luis Enrique will hope they can build on this performance when they visit the English side next in a fortnight.

"It was an almost perfect evening," said Luis Enrique.