Afghanistan post 158/5 against India in 1st T20I
Mohali, Jan 11: A lively 68-run partnership off 43 balls between the seasoned Mohammad Nabi and youthful Azmatullah Omarzai lifted Afghanistan to 158 for five after India dominated the powerplay in the first T20 here on Thursday.
A stroke-filled partnership between Nabi (42 off 27) and Omarzai (29 off 22) was just what Afghanistan needed after India reduced the visitors to 57 for three in 10 overs amid chilly conditions at the PCA Stadium.
Openers Rahamanullah Gurbaz (23 off 28) and skipper Ibrahim Zadran (25 off 22) could only find four boundaries in the powerplay.
The start of the game was delayed by a few minutes as a flickering blue light around the sightscreen distracted Gurbaz.
Pacer Arshdeep Singh opened the innings with a maiden before the spinners got into the game as early as the fourth over.
Axar Patel, who ended up as the stand out bowler for India with figures of 4-0-23-2, had Gurbaz stumped with a fast and straight delivery after the opener slog swept him for a six.
Zadran was the next to depart as he smashed an innocuous ball from Shivam Dube straight to India skipper Rohit Sharma at cover. It was only the second ball of his opening spell.
Rahmat Shah, making his T20 debut after playing 106 ODIs for Afghanistan, chopped on to stumps a flatter one from Axar.
Afghanistan badly needed a move on and that came via the experience of Nabi and Omarzai, who had impressed with his all-round abilities in the ODI World Cup in India.
While the top-order struggled to rotate strike, Omarzai and Nabi showed their teammates how to build a T20 innings.
Both targeted Ravi Bishnoi and Mukesh Kumar in the middle overs.
Nabi's back to back sixes off Mukesh stood out in his quickfire knock. He first made room to smash him over extra cover and waited still for the second ball to dispatch it over mid-wicket.
Najibullah Zadran (19 not out off 11) and Karim Janat (9 not out off 5) took the total past 150.
India dropped three catches in the biting cold of Mohali. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was unavailable for selection due to a sore right groin.
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KCOCA invoked against two accused in land dispute murder case
Udupi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Police have invoked provisions of the stringent KCOCA against two people in connection with a series of violent crimes, including murder, arising out of a prolonged land dispute in this district, officials said on Monday.
According to police, section 3 of the KCOCA was invoked after an assessment revealed the accused persons' - gangster Kali Yogish and alleged land shark Yogish Acharya- alleged involvement in multiple serious offences over a sustained period.
Accused Yogish has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody by a special KCOCA court in Mysuru, while gangster Kali, who is absconding, is believed to be residing abroad.
The case dates back to December 2022, when Kaup police registered an assault case against the accused duo and their associates for allegedly attacking a person identified as Chandrashekhar and others following a dispute over land ownership.
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The conflict escalated in March 2023 with the murder of a person identified as Sharath Shetty. Police said Shetty was allegedly killed for refusing to support Yogish and for assisting Chandrashekar in the land dispute.
A murder case was registered at Kaup police station, with Chandrashekar cited as a key witness in both cases.
Police further stated that on October 20, 2025, Chandrashekar received a threat at around 8.15 pm, warning him against deposing in court. He was allegedly asked to resolve a financial dispute with Yogish Acharya and threatened with death if he failed to comply.
Based on his complaint, a case was registered under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The investigation was supervised by Assistant Superintendent of Police, Karkala subdivision, Harsha Priyamvada.
Accused Yogish Acharya was initially arrested on October 24, 2025, and later released on bail. He was subsequently re-arrested after the invocation of KCOCA and remanded to judicial custody, police said.
