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West Indies v Afghanistan, 1st ODI, St Lucia June 9, 2017

Afghanistan 212 for 6 (Ahmadi 82, Nurse 2-34) beat West Indies 149 (Rashid 7-18) by 63 runs Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Rashid Khan looked like he would get a wicket with every ball Getty Images

Afghanistan had won on four previous occasions when Rashid Khan had picked up four wickets or more. But Friday brought him one of his tougher challenges: he had only 212 to defend on a sluggish St Lucia surface but that only seemed to spur him on. The 18-year old legspinner finished with 7 for 18 - the fourth-best haul in ODI history - and West Indies were bowled out for 149.

The 63-run victory for Afghanistan, their first in this format over a Full Member other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh, exposed the ineptness of a West Indies unit struggling in their quest to qualify directly for the 2019 World Cup.

Rashid, introduced in the 23rd over with West Indies seemingly steady at 68 for 2, broke open the game by picking up wickets off his first two deliveries. And if that isn't impressive enough, he struck on consecutive balls in the 25th as well to be on a hat-trick twice during the course of his first two overs, opening his spell with figures of 4 for 1. The lone run conceded came courtesy of a dubious wide call in which a googly spun in from outside leg stump to strike Jonathan Carter's back leg after a missed sweep before ricocheting to fine leg.

Jason Mohammed played for a straight ball when there was turn, debutant Roston Chase fell for a golden duck, completely deceived by a googly, Shai Hope was snaffled courtesy Mohammad Nabi's brilliance at slip and Jason Holder's defence was breached by a ripping wrong 'un. At 70 for 6, West Indies were railroaded, having to switch back to survival mode.

That didn't prevent Ashley Nurse from trying ungainly slogs and was quickly shown his place by a skiddy googly that gave Rashid his second five-for in ODIs. The upset was sealed in the 45th over, fittingly with another Rashid googly, as Afghanistan added to the shockwaves that rocked the cricket world this night. After all, it was only a few hours previously that another underdog, Bangladesh, had stunned New Zealand in the Champions Trophy.

While Rashid walked away with the plaudits - among bowlers with at least 50 wickets, he has the best bowling average (15.05) and strike-rate (22.3) - it was opener Javed Ahmadi quietly worked his way through to make 81, his highest ODI score, to set the game up. He showed the resolve to fight through testing spells from Shannon Gabriel and Miguel Cummins and, given he had to face a lot of short-pitched bowling, he also showed that he was particularly strong square of the wicket. Forty of his runs, including four fours and a six, came behind point.

Ahmadi built the platform in a slow, but assured, second-wicket stand of 55 with Rahmat Shah, before West Indies hit back with two quick strikes. They went into a shell against Nurse, who used the strong breeze to drift the ball away from the right-handers. He took out Asghar Stanikzai, who played for turn when there was none, and Samiullah Shenwari, who was unfortunately given out as the ball lobbed to slip off his forearm while trying to reverse sweep.

With Afghanistan at 131 for 5 in the 38th over, and Ahmadi back in the pavilion as well, West Indies had a firm grip over the contest. But Gulbadin Naib used his muscle to pepper the legside boundary and take apart Jason Holder, who conceded 36 off his last three overs. Naib would hammer three fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 28-ball 41. The 58-run stand for the eighth wicket with Mohammad Nabi, who quietly finished 27 not out, would signal the change in momentum for Afghanistan.

West Indies would have hoped for a brisk start from their batsmen but it was not to be and by being diffident and overcautious, they played themselves into a situation where one costly lapse could trigger an alarming slide. And slide they did.

Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Originally posted here:
Rashid Khan rips the fight out of West Indies - ESPNcricinfo.com

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today accused India of playing "devious games" in Afghanistan and using the country's soil to "sabotage" Islamabad's relations with Kabul.

Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakaria also accused India of escalating tension at the LoC and the Working Boundary in order to divert international community's attention from the human rights situation in Kashmir.

"India is playing a devious game in Afghanistan. India is using Afghan soil against Pakistan and also to sabotage Pakistan-Afghanistan relations," he said at the weekly press briefing.

He said Pakistan has constantly raised its concern on the issue at all the related forums.

"While we have no desire to escalate the situation, Pakistani armed forces would respond effectively to any unprovoked violations. We have always exercised restraint.

"The Indian belligerence is a threat to regional peace and security. We have cautioned India from making any strategic miscalculation. It appears that India is seeking conflict with Pakistan," he warned.

He said Pakistan calls upon the UN Security Council and Human Rights organisations to call India to account for the human rights violations in Kashmir.

"We have strongly taken up the issue of grave human rights violations in Kashmir at the Council of Human Rights in Geneva at the 35th Session, yesterday," he said.

About the 2007 Samjhauta train blast, he said that there was a pledge made by India at the highest political level that they would share the findings of the investigations.

"Unfortunately, no such thing ever materialised. On the contrary, we have noted with deep concern that over the years, Indian Government has employed systematic strategies to exonerate those who had confessed their involvement and those who were identified in those confessional statements to be involved in Samjhauta Express terrorist attack," he said.

He said Pakistan believes that all countries have an important and positive role to play to establish peace in the region and resolve disputes through peaceful means.

He said Pakistan achieved a significant milestone as it was joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) during Astana Summit.

Regarding a meeting between leaders of Pakistan and India on the sidelines of SCO Summit, Zakaria said that "we have not received any request from the Indian side for a meeting on the sidelines."

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Pakistan accuses India of 'devious games' in Afghanistan - Economic Times

BBC News

Taliban territory: Life in Afghanistan under the militants - BBC News BBC News The BBC's Auliya Atrafi goes behind the front line in Afghanistan to see life under militant control. and more »

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Taliban territory: Life in Afghanistan under the militants - BBC News - BBC News

West Indies v Afghanistan, 1st ODI, St Lucia June 8, 2017

Match Facts

June 9, 2017 Start time 1430 local (1830 GMT)

Jason Holder, who did not feature in the T20I series, returns to the West Indies side as their ODI captain AFP

Big Picture

In tennis, we sometimes see players struggling for form on the ATP World Tour - pro tennis' highest level - drop down one tier to the ATP Challenger Tour. While the level of competition is not as high, they are likely to win more matches, and winning - no matter who it's against - breeds confidence. So while it's no secret that West Indies would much rather be in England playing the Champions Trophy, there's little doubt that sweeping Afghanistan in the T20I series would have boosted morale, and eased a small amount of the pain of losing all three series against Pakistan recently.

With the ODIs coming up, the hosts have the perfect opportunity to highlight the gulf - in quality and experience - between the two sides even further, and finally enjoy a tour they can unequivocally call a success.

Afghanistan might be wishing this tour was the other way around, with the ODIs - the format they are less likely to make an impact in - held before the T20Is. That way, they could have acclimatised to the conditions during the ODIs, while saving their best for the T20Is, with a real chance of causing a few upsets. As it stands, they made their mistakes in the T20Is, and even though they got better with each progressing game, they now find themselves having to take on their hosts in a longer format, which is unlikely to play to their advantage.

Form guide

West Indies LLWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first) Afghanistan WWLLW

In the spotlight

Interest will invariably centre around Roston Chase, who was called up to the ODI side for the first time after a phenomenally prolific Test series against Pakistan. He averaged over 100 en route to scoring 403 runs - the highest aggregate for a West Indies batsmen in a three-match series. But that is no guarantee of ODI success. Chase appears to be a more classical batsman, who has prioritised first-class cricket over T20 glamour, playing just 16 domestic limited-overs matches. This series will be a test of his flexibility, and will show whether he can be a man West Indies can turn to regardless of the format. With a Test strike rate of 43.61, he'll have to do something different in the shorter format.

On paper, Gulbadin Naib's primary role is that of a medium-fast bowler, but he has performed that job for precisely two overs across 3 T20Is in the Caribbean. With the bat, a facet of his game that has assumed greater importance of late, he has disappointed, scoring 31 runs in three outings. While he is a more regular ODI bowler, Naib will be under pressure to deliver and bolster his all-round credentials. With the competition for places so intense, there will invariably be another player eyeing his place.

Team news

West Indies have named a somewhat thin 13-man squad for the ODI series, with Chadwick Walton, who struggled in the ODIs against Pakistan, left out. Jason Holder, who was rested for the T20Is, returns as ODI captain. T20I captain Carlos Brathwaite was omitted from the ODI side.

West Indies (probable): Evin Lewis, Kieran Powell, Shai Hope (wk), Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Jason Mohammad, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder (capt), Devendra Bishoo, Alzarri Joseph, Shannon Gabriel

There are fewer squad changes for Afghanistan between the T20I and ODI formats, but they might not be sure of the best side to play, having shuffled their side around during the T20Is.

Afghanistan (probable): Gulbadin Naib, Noor Ali Zadran, Asghar Stanikzai (capt), Samiullah Shenwari, Mohammad Nabi, Shafiqullah (wk), Afzar Zazai, Rashid Khan, Amir Hamza, Shapoor Zadran, Dawlat Zadran.

Pitch and conditions

This is the first match being held at this ground since it was renamed the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium after the former captain. Established in 2002, the stadium has traditionally seen spinners extract more, although high totals at this ground were in evidence long before the T20 revolution. The weather should be ideal for cricket, with bright skies and little cloud cover.

Stats and trivia

Danyal Rasool is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Danny61000

ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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WI look to stay on track for tour whitewash - ESPNcricinfo.com

A letter drafted by a senior Islamic State militant and obtained by The Associated Press points to a growing power struggle within the group's Afghan affiliate, pitting notoriously fierce Uzbek fighters against Pakistanis seen as too close to that country's powerful intelligence service.

The rumblings of discontent come as the IS affiliate, which refers to itself as the Khorasan Province, is at war with both the U.S.-backed government and the more well-established Taliban, with which it differs on tactics, leadership and ideology.

The IS affiliate emerged in 2014 and refers to itself as the Khorasan Province, an ancient term for an area that includes parts of Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asian states. It has pledged allegiance to the IS group in Iraq and Syria but consists mainly of disgruntled former Taliban and other insurgents from South and Central Asia.

The letter, obtained by a jihadi fighter with ties to the IS affiliate and then provided to AP, was signed by Moawiya Uzbekistani, the apparent nom de guerre of an Uzbek militant, who claims to have become the leader of the IS affiliate after the death of Abdul Hasib, who was killed in a joint U.S.-Afghan operation in April.

Uzbekistani rejects reports that another fighter, who he identifies as Sheikh Aslam Farouqi, has been chosen to lead the group and suggests Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence is behind the rumors.

"Even if this information is true, then it's the ISI of Pakistan behind this function and we don't accept it, because we all fight for Allah and his religion," the letter says, warning against "infidels, intelligence services and the deceitful" acting from "behind the scenes."

Militants belonging to allied groups said Central Asian fighters as well as Afghans want the leadership of the group taken out of Pakistani hands, even though the founder of IS in Afghanistan, Hafiz Saeed Khan, was a Pakistani tribesman. Khan was killed in a U.S. drone strike in July 2016.

The rift seemed to widen with a recent IS meeting in Pakistan's Orakzai tribal belt, from where Khan originates, according to two people familiar with the meeting, which was said to have been attended by 40 senior IS commanders.

The council appointed Saif-ul Islam, a close Pakistani ally of Saeed, as the new leader. With the many names used by insurgents it wasn't immediately clear if Aslam Farouqi and Saif-ul Islam were the same person. Sheikh Abdul Qadir Khorasani, an Afghan from the eastern Kunar province, was appointed deputy, they said. The militants all spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief reporters.

There has been no official IS confirmation of a new leader and in Washington intelligence officials refused to comment.

More than 16 years after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan to end Taliban rule and flush out al-Qaida, the mountainous regions along the Afghan-Pakistani border are still home to an array of extremist groups. Pakistan's spy service is said to have connections to some, including the Afghan Taliban, even as it battles other groups that threaten its own citizens.

On Wednesday, Russia warned of the threat IS posed to Afghanistan's neighbors.

Speaking at a security meeting in Kazakhstan, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow will send its newest weapons to its military bases in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to boost "combat readiness," fearing a "spill-over of terrorist activities from Afghanistan to Central Asia."

"The rise of IS fighters in Afghanistan is of a particular concern," Shoigu was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. "The group's strategy to establish an Islamic caliphate poses a threat not only to Afghanistan but also to the neighboring countries."

The growing assertiveness of the Uzbek militants within the IS affiliate is particularly worrying.

Uzbek fighters were so vicious in Pakistan's South Waziristan province that they drove the area's fractious tribesmen to unite to push them out in 2015. They then based themselves in North Waziristan before being driven across the border by a Pakistani military offensive. They have since clashed with the Taliban in different parts of Afghanistan and claimed responsibility for brazen and deadly attacks in Kabul, including a daytime assault and siege of an Afghan military hospital that killed 50 people earlier this year.

Arkady Dubnov, a Moscow-based expert on Central Asian militants, says the Uzbeks' reputation for brutality is likely rooted in the fact that they are "aliens" in much of Afghanistan and Pakistan, which are dominated by other ethnic groups.

That may also explain their tensions with the Afghan Taliban. While both IS and the Taliban are determined to overthrow the Afghan government and impose a harsh version of Islamic law, the former views itself as part of a global movement, while the latter confines its operations to Afghanistan.

Dubnov also noted that the son of Tahir Yuldashev, the powerful Uzbek leader of the outlawed Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, who was killed in a U.S. missile strike in Pakistan in 2009, is leading efforts to help expand IS influence in Afghanistan.

Central Asian fighters are now a key pillar of support for the IS affiliate, according to Anatol Lieven, a regional expert at Georgetown University's Qatar campus.

"They have been encouraged to move to IS because of the longstanding Taliban declaration that they are not an international jihadi force," he said.

"The estimates of the number of Uzbeks, Tajiks, Turkmen and other fighters from the former U.S.S.R. living in Afghanistan that I heard ranged from 6,000 to 25,000," said Lieven adding many have intermarried with Afghans of a similar ethnic background.

Associated Press writers Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow and Deb Riechmann in Washington contributed to this report.

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Power struggle seen within surging IS in Afghanistan - ABC News