Afghanistan keep hopes alive by becoming first to beat West Indies

Afghanistan secured a brilliant win over the previously unbeaten West Indies to keep their World Cup dream alive.

The Afghans went into the Super Six stage of the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe knowing they had to win all three of their matches to stand any chance of progressing to the main event in England next summer. They completed phase one of that mission by beating the Windies by three wickets in an absorbing, topsy-turvy contest at Harare Sports Club.

The much-vaunted Afghan spinners were the architects of the victory, restricting their supposedly more illustrious opponents to 197/8 on what looked a good batting track, with the teenage spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman (3-33) continuing his excellent form.

Nevertheless, the Windies will feel they should have won the match but ultimately paid the price for several dropped catches and missed run-out opportunities.

This morning, both Zimbabwe and Ireland will be hoping to make the most of the momentum they gained during the group stage, as they face off at Harare Sports Club.

Hosts Zimbabwe finished on top of Group B on seven points after winning three of their four games – their final match, against Scotland, ended in a thrilling tie.

Ireland recorded similarly impressive performances, their only defeat so far coming against tournament favourites Windies.

Nepal, meanwhile, gained One Day International status for the first time in their history yesterday when they beat Papua New Guinea by six wickets in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier play-off at Old Hararians Sports Club.

Nepal’s bowlers laid the platform for the comprehensive win, with Sandeep Lamichhane and Dipendra Airee taking four wickets apiece to dismiss their opponents for 114 in just 27.2 overs.

The defeat means that PNG will now lose their own ODI status.