.jpg?im=Resize,height=373 "When MS Dhoni Asked Afghanistan Player To Lose 20 Kgs For An IPL Contract")
![[Watch] Big Controversy Erupts As Arshdeep Singh Gets Rid Of Dangerous Mohammad Shahzad](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1696668725926_Untitled design - 2023-10-07T142157.859.jpg?im=Resize,height=373 "[Watch] Big Controversy Erupts As Arshdeep Singh Gets Rid Of Dangerous Mohammad Shahzad")
[Watch] Big Controversy Erupts As Arshdeep Singh Gets Rid Of Dangerous Mohammad Shahzad
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Asia Cup 2022: Top five batting performances in the Asia Cup
As the Asia Cup 2022 is around the corner, we'll look at the top five batting performances in the tournament which had the most impact on the game's context.
T20 World Cup | Hamid Hassan’s yorkers dismantle Namibia as Afghanistan record huge win
If the competition would be about Net Run Rate (NRR), Afghanistan would be winning it hands down. After defeating Scotland by 130 runs in their first match, the Afghans registered yet another huge victory as they downed Namibia by 62 runs. Hamid Hassan, who played in place of injured Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman was the hero of the game for the Afghans as his deadly yorkers saw the end of three of Namibia’s most dangerous batters in skipper Gerhard Erasmus, David Wiese and JJ Smit. Chasing a target of 161, Namibia didn’t really have a good start as they lost the opener, Craig Williams, in the very first over of the game to Naveen-Ul-Haq. Soon Michael Van Lingen departed as well, becoming the second scalp of Naveen. Nicol Loftie-Eaton, who did well with the ball in the first innings, wasn’t able to reflect it with the bat as he got bowled trying to hit a ball out of the park off the bowling of Gulbadin Naib. Rashid Khan had to do very little as Zane Green tried to ramp him and got bowled on the very first ball of his spell. After this dismissal, the best pairing for Namibia was crease as David Wiese partnered Erasmus. The two were going well and had added 20 runs for the fifth wicket at run a ball. But then came Hassan with his brutal toe crushing yorkers at a medium pace. He first bowled Erasmus and then in the same over removed another dangerous batter in JJ Smit with bouncer brushing his gloves and going into the gloves of Mohammad Shahzad. From there on there was no way that Namibia were going to chase down 105 from 55 balls and it was made sure as Jan Frylinck, the last batting option was also removed in the 15th over as Naveen picked Frylinck as his third wicket. From there on it was just formalities and they were completed as Hamid removed Wisese and Namibia played out the 20 overs. Earlier in the day, after winning the toss, Afghan skipper Mohammad Nabi decided to bat first and his decision was backed by a good opening partnership by Shahzad and Hzratullah Zazai as they added 53 for the first wicket. While Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Najibullah Zadran failed, Asghar Afghan who was playing his last game for the country, scored 31 off 23 and with Nabi’s unbeaten 32 off 17 and Shahzad’s important 45, Afghanistan got past 160 at the loss of five wickets. Leg spinner Loftie-Eaton picked two wickets for Namibia and finished with career-best figures of 2/21. Afghanistan will now face India and New Zealand in its next two games which would also be must-wins for them to qualify for the semi-finals. Namibia will take on group leaders Pakistan on Tuesday.
Everest Premier League 2021 | Chitwan Tigers trounce Pokhara Rhinos to become champions
The Chitwan Tigers defeated the Pokhara Rhinos by four wickets in the final and won the fourth edition of the Everest Premier League in Kirtipur. Chasing a low target of 112 runs, the Tigers got off to a horrible start with Hasim Ansari and Karim Janat getting out for ducks. Afghanistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad tried to up the ante but his wicket on the last ball of the fourth over threatened to derail Tiger’s chances of winning the title. However, middle-order batsman Bhim Sharki brought his best to the table and powered the Tigers to the championship in partnership with Dilip Nath and Rajesh Pulami. None of those three batsmen could stay at the crease till the end though and the Tigers’ skipper Sompal Kami took the team home with a boundary on the only ball he needed to bat. Earlier in the day, the Tigers won the toss and asked the Rhinos to bat first. They got off to a decent start with the opening pair of Richard Levi and Bipin Rawal going hard at the bowlers. However, after the opening pair went back to the pavilion by the end of the fifth over, Sahan Arachchige and Rit Gautam went quickly to put the Rhinos under pressure before the skipper Binod Bhandari and Asela Gunaratne steadied the ship. Their partnership was followed by another collapse and the Rhinos were pushed to the brink by the end of the first half of the game. From the Tigers’ side, Nepal’s pacer Kamal Airee and Sri Lankan leg spinner Seekkuge Prasanna were the pick of the bowlers as they picked four and two wickets respectively. Both the Man of the Match and the Man of the Series went to the Tigers’ players as Kamal Aire was adjudged Man of the Match of the final while Sagar Dhakal was awarded the Man of the Series award.
Everest Premier League 2021| Final: Chitwan Tigers and Pokhara Rhinos fight it out for the title
The Everest Premier League, 2021 which finally took place after two seasons of non-engagement in 2019 and 2020 due to various reasons including the Covid-19 pandemic, has now reached its penultimate destination with the final match of the season to be played on October 8 between Chitwan Tigers and Pokhara Rhinos at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, Kathmandu. The league has been marred by rain disruptions, which have resulted in a few washouts and few other games being decided through the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method. However, crossing all such hurdles and earning important victories, Pokhra and Chitwan towns made it to the final. Here’s a look at how they reached the final Chitwan Tigers road to the EPL 2021 Final In their first-ever match this season, the Tigers beat Biratnagar Warriors by two wickets courtesy of a composed innings by Rajesh Pulami as they chased down 152. While their next game against the Bhairahawa Gladiators was abandoned due to rain, the Tigers came back to win their next game as well. This three-wicket win was against Kathmandu Kings XI who had players like Afghan Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Zimbabwe’s Ryan Burl and Nepal’s own superstar Sandeep Lamichhane. From close wins, the Tigers showed their prowess in the next game and beat Pokhara Rhinos by nine wickets. In this Afghan wicketkeeper batter, Mohammad Shehzad shone for Tigers with the bat. In their fifth game, the Tigers beat defending champions Lalitpur Patriots to top the table. But the sixth match, which was actually the replay of the second game, was postponed due to the wet outfield Tigers somewhat lost the plot as they were beaten by Gladiators by six wickets. But even after that loss, they finished at the top of the six-team points tables and in Qualifier 1, beat Pokhara Rhinos, once again by nine wickets to advance to the final. Chitwan Tigers: Players to watch out in the final Mohammad Shahzad The funky Afghan wicket-keeper who entered the international arena on his ability to strike the ball mighty hard has been out of the national set-up for quite a long now. But his ability and skills in the shortest format of the game are still recognisable and Chitwan signed him as their overseas player for that reason. He has proved the signing right becoming the leading run-getter this season. The 33-year-old who still harbours hopes of a national call up has scored 196 runs with an average of 39.20 and a strike rate of 132 with 63* against Pokhra Rhinos being his best. Facing the Rhinos again, he would fancy his chances of taking his team home once again. Sagar Dhakal While it has been Sehzad with the bat, with the ball, Sagar Dhakal has been the crusader for the Tigers. The 19-year-old left-arm orthodox spin bowler has actually been the leader of the pack that combines Karim Janat, Shahab Alam and Kamal Singh Airee. While Dhakal has 13 wickets to his kitty in six innings with an average of 9.46 and an economy rate of 5.34, the rest three have together picked up 25 wickets. This quartet has been the reason for the Tigers’ success in this league so far. Pokhara Rhinos road to the EPL 2021 Final Pokhara Rhinos finished the league stage with an equal number of points as Bhairahawa Gladiators. The net run rate of Gladiators was better than Rhinos, but since Rhinos had won more matches, they were controversially given the second spot in the Points Table. In the league stage, the team from Pokhara won their three games, one game was abandoned due to bad weather and lost only against the Tigers, who they would also be facing in the Final. In Qualifier 1, they once again lost to the Tigers and by the same margin as they had in the league stage. In Qualifier-2, the Rhinos came back and beat Gladiators courtesy of a great all-around showing by their Sri Lankan import Sahan Arachchige to qualify for the Final. Pokhara Rhinos: Players to watch out in the final Sahan Arachchige The all-rounder has been a breath of fresh air in the Pokhara Rhinos squad. With 143 runs at an average of 47.66 and strike rate of 126 and four wickets to his kitty at 17.50 apiece, the Sri Lankan has raised hopes for the Pokhra team going into the Final. Most importantly, with his performance in the Qualifier-2, it has become clear that he is a big match player and if found in the right form, the 25-year-old could very well be the game-changer in the final. Richard Levi A seasoned professional, the South African has managed to prove over the years that he is capable of changing matches single-handedly. What Mohammad Shahzad is to Chitwan Tigers, Levi could very well be for Rhinos. With an experience of more than 100 First Class, List A and more than 200 T20 games playing around the world, the 33-year-old packs a heavy punch, which might land in the right place in the final. In the league so far, the Proteas has scored 155 runs, striking at more than 150. His average of 25 shows that he has been consistent as well. What's at stake? Both the teams have reached the final of this top-rated competition in Nepalese cricket for the first time. Thus a title win for either of them would do a world of good regarding competition in the league and also with respect to building fan bases. Chitwan have beaten Pokhara twice in the league and Qualifier and that too by a huge margin. But the final is altogether a different ball game. Can the Rhinos turn it on in the match that matters the most?