Sharjah, Sep 3: Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan by four wickets in their Super 4 match of the Asia Cup here on Saturday.

Sri Lanka chased down the target of 176 with five balls to spare with useful contributions from Kushal Mendis (36), Pathum Nissanka (35), Danushka Gunathilaka (33) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (31).

For Afghanistan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Naveen-ul-Haq took two wickets apiece.

Earlier, put in to bat, Afghanistan scored 175 for 6 with opener and wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz top-scoring with a 45-ball 84 while Ibrahim Zadran contributed 40.

For Sri Lanka, Dilshan Madushanka took two wickets while Maheesh Theekshana and Asitha Fernando got one each.

Brief Scores:

Afghanistan: 175 for 6 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 84, Ibrahim Zadran 40; Dilshan Madushanka 2/37).

Sri Lanka: 179 for 6 in 19.1 overs (Kusal Mendis 36, Pathum Nissanka 35, Danushka Gunathilaka 33; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2/30, Naveen-ul-Haq 2/40).

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Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.

AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.

“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.

He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.

“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.

According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.

In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.

AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.