Afghanistan post first Cricket World Cup win

Afghanistan's remarkable rise continued with a maiden World Cup win as they beat Scotland by one wicket on Thursday, while Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara celebrated his 400th one-day international with a hundred.
It's a long way, in more than terms of distance, from the ravages of war-torn Afghanistan to Dunedin's University Oval, but the sedate surroundings ultimately proved a happy hunting ground for the Afghans.
But Afghanistan, appearing in their first World Cup, looked anything but likely winners as they slumped to 97 for seven in pursuit of a modest victory target of 211.
But Samiullah Shenwari, who 12 months ago made 81 as Afghanistan stunned Bangladesh at the Asia Cup, his country's only win over a Test nation, had other ideas.
On Thursday, the 28-year-old's breathtaking 96 with seven fours and five sixes -- the only sixes of the match -- took Afghanistan to the brink of a sensational victory.
But when he holed out off spinner Majid Haq, trying to go for another six, Afghanistan still needed 19 more runs off as many balls with just one wicket standing.
However, the last-wicket duo of Hamid Hassan (15 not out) and Shapoor Zadran (12 not out) held their nerve, with Shapoor looking anything but a No 11 as he struck the winning boundary off Iain Wardlaw three balls into the last over.
This result, following Ireland's exciting win over the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, meant the four non-Test nations taking part had produced the two most exciting finishes of this World Cup -- an ideal riposte to the International Cricket Council's proposal to reduce the number of teams involved in the 2019 edition in England from 14 to 10.
"It was difficult because we lost early wickets but I did my job," said man-of-the-match Shenwari.
After he was out, a despairing Shenwari could be seen sitting with his head in his hands.
"It was a very poor shot," he admitted. "I was trying to get another six but it was a very good win for us."
Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi thought his side had thrown away their chance with the bat after restricting Scotland to 210 all out in an innings where left-arm paceman Shapoor took an impressive four for 38 in his maximum permitted 10 overs.
"The pressure was extreme again but Shenwari batted brilliantly," said Nabi. "It's good to put two points on the board. This is our first win in the World Cup and everyone (in Afghanistan) will enjoy this."
For Scotland, now appearing in their third World Cup, the wait for a win goes on after they looked certain to break their duck in Dunedin -- the Gaelic name for Edinburgh.
- 400th game -
"It's never easy losing a game but this is a particularly difficult one for us to swallow," said Scotland captain Preston Mommsen, whose side have now lost all three of their Pool A matches following defeats by New Zealand and England.
In Pool B, Sangakkara was in vintage form as he scored his 22nd ODI hundred as Sri Lanka piled up 332 for one against Bangladesh at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Sri Lanka, the 1996 champions and losing finalists in the last two World Cups, were helped along to their huge total by a shoddy Bangladesh fielding display.
Tillakaratne Dilshan made 161 not out and Sangakkara 105 not out as they shared an unbroken stand of 210 that left Sri Lanka on course for a second victory of this tournament after an opening loss to New Zealand was followed by a nervy four-wicket win over Afghanistan.
"The boys were wishing me luck for my 400th game so it was nice to get the hundred," said Sangakkara after joining a '400 club' that also includes two Sri Lankans in Sanath Jayasuriya (445) and current team-mate Mahela Jayawardene (444), but is headed by retired India great Sachin Tendulkar with 463 ODI appearances.
"You have to evolve with the game. I've tried to keep pace with the guys and innovate," added 37-year-old left-hander and wicketkeeper Sangakkara.
Source: AFP