All-round Afghanistan beat Namibia by 62 runs for 2nd win in T20 WC
Abu Dhabi, Oct 31: Pacers Hamid Hassan and Naveen-ul-Haq shared six wickets between them in impressive bowling spells as Afghanistan crushed Namibia by 62 runs in their Super 12 match of the T20 World Cup here on Sunday.
Opting to bat, Afghanistan posted 160 for five thanks to handy contributions from Hazratullah Zazai (33), Mohammad Shahzad (45), Asghar Afghan (31) -- who was playing his last international match -- and Mohammad Nabi (32 not out).
With the ball, the Afghans restricted Namibia to 98 for nine for their second win in the tournament.
Chasing 161, Namibia lost three wickets inside the power play and could never recover from there. Naveen-ul-Haq (3/26) removed Craig Williams (1) and Michael van Lingen (11) early in a spell of 2/2 and then added another wicket later on.
Hamid Hassan (3/9 from 4 overs) tormented the Namibia middle-order as he got the wickets of captain Gerhard Erasmus (12), top-scorer David Wiese (26) and JJ Smit (0).
Namibia were 29 for three in 5.2 overs with Gulbadin Naib (2/19) chipping in with the wicket of Jan Loftie-Eaton (11).
Star spinner Rashid Khan (1/14 from 4 overs), who was introduced in the eighth over, got Zane Green out for 1 in his first delivery of the day as Namibia found themselves tottering.
Green missed the ball completely and he was cleaned up.
The asking rate was rising as Namibia needed 106 from the back end of their innings and having lost four wickets, their woes continued with captain Erasmus getting out in the 11th over as a yorker from Hassan crashed on to his leg stump.
Namibia were 56 for five and the match was as good as over by then but an unrelenting Hassan got his second wicket in the form of Smit three balls later.
Earlier, Afghan played a nice little cameo to score 31 off 23 balls in his farewell game, which helped Afghanistan post 160 for five.
Afghanistan made a strong start, reaching to 50 for no loss at the end of power play, with the opening pair of Zazai and Shahzad sharing a 53-run stand in 6.4 overs.
But Afghanistan fizzled out after that as wickets fell at regular intervals and there was no substantial partnership. They recovered a bit towards the end, scoring 51 from the last five overs, thanks to Afghan.
The 33-year-old right-handed batter, who was earlier known as Asghar Stanikzai, has played six Tests, 114 ODIs and 75 T20Is after making debut in 2009.
In his last game for the country, he provided good support to current captain Nabi (32 not out off 17 balls) and their quick-fire 35-run stand took the team's total past 150-run mark.
Zazai was the more aggressive of the opening duo. He began with a six and a four in the first over bowled by Ruben Trumpelmann and then added three more boundaries and another maximum in the power play.
But just as he was looking ominous, Zazai holed out to deep square leg fielder off Smit in the seventh over.
One-down Rahmanullah Gurbaz did not last long as he was out for 4 in the 10th over, trapped LBW off the bowling of Jan Loftie-Eaton.
The run-rate dropped as Afghanistan reached to 69 for two at the halfway mark.
Shahzad was out in the 13th over, top-edging Trumpelmann for Bernard Scholtz to take a simple catch. He hit three fours and two sixes during his 45-run knock.
Afghanistan took 13 runs from the 15th over with Afghan clobbering him for a six but they lost the momentum once again as Najibullah Zadran (7) was out at the other end.
Afghan was out in the penultimate over off Trumpelmann after hitting three fours and one six. Several Namibia players shook hands with Afghan while he walked off the ground.
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Congress' leniency led to Waqf boards flouting norms, claims Kangana Ranaut
Shimla, Apr 5 (PTI): The Congress' leniency towards Waqf boards led to them flouting norms, BJP MP Kangana Ranaut alleged on Saturday and said the Waqf (Amendment) Bill passed by Parliament would address the issue of largescale land-grabbing.
Addressing a Jan Sampark Abhiyan in the Majhvad area of her Mandi constituency, the actor-politician welcomed the Waqf bill's passage and claimed there was a big conspiracy behind the formation of Waqf boards even before Independence.
The entire country is suffering till now because of that, she alleged.
The new legislation will address the issue of significant encroachments, she claimed and alleged huge chunks of land had been grabbed in the name of Waqf boards.
Parliament approved the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, early on Friday after the Rajya Sabha gave its nod to the contentious legislation following an over 13-hour debate.
The Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 opposing it. It was passed in the Lok Sabha early on Thursday, with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it.
Ranaut also said Congress leaders elected from Mandi did not raise their voices for the people in Parliament.
That is why Himachal Pradesh is in huge debt today, she claimed.
The BJP MP, who hails from Mandi, said Congress leaders made an uncalled-for remark about the district -- also known as Chhoti Kashi -- to defame it while she was preparing to return home.
Ranaut was referring to a comment by Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate after the actor-politician was fielded by the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls that had evoked strong reactions.
Speaking in the local dialect, she expressed her gratitude to the people of Mandi for electing her and said she would work for their welfare as a sister and daughter.
Earlier, Ranaut paid obeisance at the Bhoot Nath temple.
