Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Asif Ali smashes Pakistan to World Cup win over Afghanistan

Asif Ali smashes Pakistan to World Cup win over Afghanistan

Asif Ali smashed four sixes in the penultimate over to help Pakistan achieve a hard-fought five-wicket win over Afghanistan in the Twenty20 World Cup in Dubai on Friday.

With Pakistan needing 24 runs off the final two overs, Asif lifted paceman Karim Janat's first, third, fifth and sixth balls over the boundary to help Pakistan overhaul a tricky 148-run target.


Asif finished with 25 off just seven balls with four sixes and a single, leaving Janat and all the other Afghan players frustrated.

The win gave Pakistan a third win in as many games in Group 2 of the Super 12 stages, almost assuring a semi-final place, needing just one more win from their last two games.

Afghanistan scored a fighting 147-6 in their 20 overs with Gulbadin Naib and skipper Mohammad Nabi each scoring 35.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was full of praise for Asif.

"I was very confident Asif would get us out of any trouble we find ourselves in," said Babar, whose team tops the Group 2 with six points in three matches.

"Asif's hitting was clean and that's why we selected him."

Nabi was equally appreciative of Asif's hitting.

"We didn't start really well but the total on the board was decent but maybe not enough, only because of Asif," said Nabi.

Babar anchored Pakistan's innings with a 47-ball 51 but his dismissal -- bowled by spinner Rashid Khan -- turned the game on its head in the 17th over with Pakistan needing 26 off the last three overs.

Paceman Naveen-ul-Haq conceded just two runs in the 18th over and dismissed Shoaib Malik for 19 but Asif quashed all hopes of an Afghanistan win.

Pakistan's task was to handle spinners Rashid and Mujeeb Ur Rahman in their chase with the evening dew making life tough for bowlers.

Mujeeb dismissed Mohammad Rizwan (eight) while Nabi accounted for Fakhar Zaman (30) before Rashid's wickets of Mohammad Hafeez (10) and Babar.

Earlier, Gulbadin Naib and Nabi lifted Afghanistan from a wobbly start.

Naib smashed a 25-ball 35 not out while Nabi scored an undefeated 32-ball 35 as they helped Afghanistan recover from 76-6 with an unbroken seventh wicket stand of 71 after they won the toss and batted.

All six top Afghanistan batsmen were caught playing rash shots but Nabi and Naib added 54 runs in the last five overs to give their team a fighting total.

Naib hit two fours and a six off paceman Hasan Ali to take 21 off the 18th over and the pair scored 15 in the 19th bowled by Haris Rauf.

Naib's knock had four boundaries and a six while Nabi hit five boundaries.

Left-arm spinner Imad Wasim was the pick of Pakistan's bowlers with 2-25, dismissing dangerous opener Hazratullah Zazai for a five-ball duck.

Najibullah Zadran (22) and Janat (15) were other contributors.

Pakistan kept the same eleven which beat India and New Zealand in their first two matches while Afghanistan were also unchanged from their first game rout of Scotland.

The top two teams from each of the two groups will qualify for the semi-finals.

More For You

Apple India Reroutes 97% of iPhones to US Amid Tariff Push

Apple iPhones are seen inside India's first Apple retail store in Mumbai, India, April 17, 2023.

REUTERS

Foxconn sends 97 per cent of India iPhone exports to US amid tariff push

NEARLY all iPhones exported by Foxconn from India between March and May were shipped to the United States, according to customs data reviewed by Reuters.

The data showed that 97 per cent of Foxconn’s iPhone exports during this period went to the US, significantly higher than the 2024 average of 50.3 per cent.

Keep ReadingShow less
Child Fame Costs: HBO’s New Young Harry Potter Reboot Stars

The new trio cast as Harry, Hermione and Ron step into a world where childhood and fame rarely mix well

Instagram/harrypotter/Getty Images

From Hogwarts to headlines, the real cost of childhood fame for Harry Potter’s new stars

As HBO prepares to bring Harry Potter back to screens with a new television adaptation, excitement is high around the casting of Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, and Alastair Stout as the iconic trio of Harry, Hermione, and Ron. But amid the buzz, a quiet voice of caution has emerged. Chris Watson, father of original Hermione actress Emma Watson, is urging parents and the industry to tread carefully when it comes to child stardom.

Chris Watson is not speaking as a critic or industry insider but as someone who watched his daughter grow up inside a global franchise. Emma was nine when she landed the role of Hermione Granger, and what followed was a decade of public attention that reshaped her life. Her father remembers the shift vividly. “Her homework would go back to school on motorbikes,” he once said, pointing to the surreal logistics fame forced on them.

Keep ReadingShow less
Thunderstorms to Hit East & South-East England; Met Office

The warning indicates a high risk of disruption

Getty Images

Thunderstorms to hit East and South-East England as Met Office issues amber warning

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for thunderstorms across parts of eastern and south-eastern England, in effect from 20:00 BST on Friday to 05:00 on Saturday. The affected area spans from Eastbourne in East Sussex to Cromer in north Norfolk.

The warning indicates a high risk of disruption, with flash flooding, power cuts, and hazardous travel conditions expected. The Met Office warns that flooding of homes and businesses is likely, and delays or cancellations to bus and rail services are possible due to surface water and lightning strikes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Crime boss who posed as male escort jailed for £20m cocaine plot

Shergill and his accomplices were arrested on different dates in 2020

Photo for representation (iStock)

Crime boss who posed as male escort jailed for £20m cocaine plot

THE head of an organised crime group who claimed he was a male escort while masterminding an international operation to import cocaine into the UK has been sentenced to 21 years and three months in jail.

Kulvir Shergill, 43, from the West Midlands, told National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators he made a living through male escort bookings, teaching martial arts and working as a personal trainer.

Keep ReadingShow less
DJ Funky T’s Top Indian Music Picks; Playlist Revealed

DJ Funky T

My Playlist: DJ Funky T reveals his top Indian music picks

With a massive music collection spanning several decades, multi-genre DJ and music producer DJ Funky T found it challenging to narrow down just 10 songs he loves. Also known as Tony Hayer, his favourites range from Michael Jackson, Dr Dre and Fleetwood Mac to Bollywood, Punjabi, Hindi, Sufi and more. Some of these diverse influences feature in his own track Tu Meri Rani Si.

Before revealing his choices, he said: “The following golden tracks have stood the test of time. It was a hard call, as many more songs could have made this list. So, in no particular order from my current conscious memory, I present 10 Indian songs I love. Check them out and enjoy.”

Keep ReadingShow less