DOHA: Iran’s players did not sing their national anthem before their first game of the World Cup against England on Monday, in apparent support for Anti Government Protest in their homeland,

Ahead of the game in Qatar, captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh said the team would decide together whether or not to refuse to sing the anthem in a show of solidarity for demonstrations that have rocked the regime in Iran.

The Iranian players stood impassively and grim-faced as their anthem rang out around the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.

Iran has been shaken by two months of National wide protest  since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in morality police custody on September 16.

Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin, died three days after her arrest in Tehran over an alleged breach of the Islamic republic’s dress code for women, which includes the mandatory hijab headscarf.

Some Iranian athletes have chosen not to sing the national anthem or celebrate their victories in support of the protesters.

Jahanbakhsh, who used to play for the English club Brighton, was angered last week by a question from a British journalist about the anthem issue.

“Every single player has a different celebration and you ask about the national anthem and that’s something that also has to be decided in the team, which we already talked about,” he said.

“But we never made a big deal out of it, to be honest, because everybody is only thinking about football.”

 since Amini’s death has left nearly 400 people dead, according to the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights.

Melbourne: England defeated Pakistan on Sunday at the iconic MCG to lift its second T20 World Cup. Star all-rounder Ben Stokes sailed the England ship out of troubled waters with a gritty knock of ____ runs.

Chasing a target of 138, England achieved it in __ overs.

An important moment came into the match when Pakistan was making inroads into the match with some brilliant bowling but the efforts were marred by their spearhead Shaheen Afridi having to walkout of the game with his persisting knee injury.

Iftikhar who bowled the remaining five deliveries of Shaheen’s over conceded 13 runs, thereby effectively conceding the match to England.

Sydney,A rejuvenated Pakistan lifted their game when it mattered the most and stormed into the T20 World Cup final with a convincing seven-wicket win over New Zealand here on Wednesday.

Pakistan first restricted New Zealand to 152 for four on a slow SCG track and then chased down the target with consummate ease, riding on skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan’s attacking fifties to book their place in the final after 13 years.

This will be Pakistan’s third appearance in the T20 World Cup final. They had finished runners-up to India in the inaugural edition in 2007 before claiming the title two years later.

ADELIDE: Minnows Netherlands knocked South Africa out of the T20 World Cup with a stunning 13-run win as the Proteas yet again chocked in a big ICC tournament, here on Sunday.

Netherlands dished out a collective batting effort to post a decent 158 for four after being invited to bat and then restricted the Proteas to 145 for eight for their biggest victory in world cricket.

It was Dutch side’s first win against South Africa across any format. South Africa’s defeat secured India’s passage into the semifinals. India have a match to play against Zimbabwe later today in Melbourne.

Netherlands’ win has converted the next match between Pakistan and Bangladesh into a virtual knock-out as the winning team will make it to the knockout stage from Group 2 along with India.

It was Netherlands second win in the Super 12 stage, having defeated Zimbabwe by five wickets earlier.

Chasing a competitive 159, South Africa lost skipper Temba Bavuma (20) and Quinton de Kock (13) early.

Rilee Rossouw (25) got a start before becoming Brandon Glover’s (3/9) first victim as South Africa slipped to 64 for three.

Aiden Markram (17) and David Miller (17) then added 26 runs for the fourth wicket before three quick wickets, including two in one over from Glover, spoilt South Africa’s chances.

Markram was dismissed by Fred Klassen in the 13th over as Stephan Myburgh took an excellent catch at short cover.

Glover then dismissed dangerous Miller and Wayne Parnell in a span of three balls to dent South Africa’s chances as they slumped to 113 for six.

From thereon, it was a herculean task for the likes of Heinrich Klassen and Keshav Maharav to take the side past the finish line as South Africa fell short by 13 runs.

Earlier, Stephan Myburgh (37 off 30) and Max O’Dowd (29) gave the Dutch team a good start, sharing 58 runs for the opening wicket.

Besides the duo, Tom Cooper (35 off 19) and Colin Ackermann (41 not out off 26) scored quick runs to help Netherlands get past the 150-run mark.

Ackermann’s innings was laced with three boundaries and two huge sixes, while Cooper struck two fours and as many hits over the fence.

Leaving aside Anrich Nortje (1/10), none of the South African fast bowlers could inflict any damage on Netherlands with Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi all going for runs.

Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj (2/27) picked up two wickets for the Proteas, while Markram (1/16) accounted for one batter.

Adelaide: Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi on Friday stepped down from his position with immediate effect, following the side’s debacle in the T20 World Cup where they failed to win a single match.

Nabi though cited his disappointment with the team’s preparation for the showpiece and disagreements with the management and selection committee for quitting captaincy.

Shortly after the team ended their campaign at the T20 World Cup with a narrow four-run loss against Australia here, the 37-year-old took to social media to announce his decision.

“Our T20 World Cup journey came to an end, with a result that not us nor our supporters were expecting. We are as frustrated as you are with the outcome of matches,” the spin allrounder wrote in a statement shared on his Twitter account.

Following their loss to Australia, Afghanistan became the only team to stay winless in the tournament with three defeats and two no-results. They finished at the bottom of Super 12 Group I with two points.

“From the last one year, our team preparation was not to a level that a captain would want it or needed for a big tournament,” he wrote.

“Moreover, in some of the last tours the team management, selection committee and I were not on the same page which had implications on the team balance.

“Therefore, with due respect, effectively immediately I announce to STEP DOWN as a CAPTAIN & will continue to play for my country when the management & team need me.”

Nabi, who had taken over the captaincy just before the T20 World Cup in the UAE last year after Rashid Khan’s resignation, thanked his supporters.

“I thank every single one of you from the bottom of my heart who came to the grounds despite matches being affected by the rain and those who supporters us worldwide, your love truly means a lot to us. Long live Afghanistan.”


Nabi, who was earlier named captain in 2010, led Afghanistan in 23 games in his latest stint with the team winning 10 and losing 13 matches.

Afghanistan’s most capped player, Nabi, has played three Tests, 133 ODIs and 104 T20Is, scoring a total of 4362 runs and snapping 234 wickets.

By virtue of the win, Australia moved to the second spot in Group 1 with seven points from five games, same as New Zealand, who became the first team to qualify for the semifinals on account of a better net run rate.

Australia, however, failed to get past England’s net run rate as the hosts needed to restrict Afghanistan below 106 after posting 168 for eight.

That means if England beat Sri Lanka in Sydney in their final game on Saturday, they too will finish with seven points and will join New Zealand in the semifinal from Group 1 with a better net run rate.

Glenn Maxwell was the top-scorer for Australia as he hit a quickfire fifty but Afghanistan pulled things back nicely in the final five overs to limit the defending champions to a decent total.

Maxwell made an unbeaten 32-ball 54 that included six boundaries and two hits over the fence after Afghanistan invited Australia to bat.

In response, Afghanistan nearly pulled off a sensational win, riding on Rashid’s (48 not out off 23 balls) pyrotechnics but eventually fell short.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz got Afghanistan’s chase off to a decent start with a 17-ball 30 during which he struck two boundaries and as many sixes but Australia forged their way back, removing both the openers.

Gulbadin Naib (39) and Ibrahim Zadran (26), however, were in no mood to give up without a fight and stitched 59 runs off 46 balls for the second wicket.

Both Naib and Zadran used the inside out shots over the infield to good effect and kept the Afghans in the hunt.

It took a brilliant piece of work from Maxwell from the outfield to break the stand. Maxwell came up with a direct hit from deep mid-wicket to cut short Naib’s innings and then in the very next ball Zadran top-edged Adam Zampa to Marsh.

Zampa inflicted another missed timed shot to dismiss Najibullah Zadran as Afghanistan lost the plot in the 14th over.

Towards the end, Rashid played some lusty blows and together with Darwish Rasooli shared quick 45 runs off 28 balls to reduce the equation to 22 of the last over.

Rashid managed to hit Marcus Stonis for two fours and one six in the final over but it was not enough.

Earlier, Australia lost Cameroon Green early but David Warner (25 off 18) and Mitchell Marsh (45 off 30) kept up the run rate up with their fiery strokeplay.

But two quick wickets in the sixth over in the form of Warner and Steve Smith saw the hosts slump to 52 for 3 in the powerplay.

While Warner was bowled by a Naveen-ul-Haq off-cutter as the batter went for an extravagant switch hit, Smith was adjudged LBW three balls later.

Marsh then top-edged Mujeeb Ur Rahman (1/42) while going for a slog sweep and Gurbaz took a fine high catch to sent the batter packing as Australia were reduced to 86 for 4 in the 11th over.

Maxwell and Stoinis (25 off 21) then joined hands and shared 53 runs off just 29 balls for the fifth wicket.

While Maxwell looked in ominous form, cutting, pulling and lofting Afghan bowlers over the boundary, Stoinis struggled with his timing.

Stoinis had just two sixes during his 21-ball knock before he handed a simple catch to Usman Ghani at backward point off Rashid.

Stand-in captain Matthew Wade too didn’t trouble the scorers much as he was cleaned up by Fazalhaq Farooqi’s toe-crushing yorker.

From 133 for 4 in 15 overs, Australia kept on losing wickets to lose the momentum as Maxwell found boundaries hard to come by after a promising start.

Maxwell brought up his fifty off 29 balls with a four off Farooqi in the final over and found the fence again in the last ball to finish the innings on a high.

Adelaide, Nov 4: Defending champions Australia survived a late Rashid Khan onslaught to eke out a narrow four-run win over Afghanistan and keep their slim semifinal hopes alive in the T20 World Cup here on Friday.

Cheongju (South Korea): The Indian men’s team, led by the seasoned Saurav Ghosal, clinched its first-ever gold at the Asian Squash Team Championships with a 2-0 win over Kuwait in the final here on Friday.

Star player Ghosal sealed the victory after Ramit Tandon had given India the lead with a fluent straight games win over Ali Aramezi (11-5, 11-7, 11-4).

Ghosal then made short work of Ammar Altamimi 11-9, 11-2, 11-3 to give the team an unassailable lead.

The third match between Abhay Singh and Falah Mohammad was not played as the tie had been decided following wins for Tandon and Ghosal.

Having finished with the silver medal on two previous occasions, the Indian men, seeded one, justified its billing and emerged victorious with a dominant performance.

They topped Pool A with an all-win record, recording victories over Qatar, Pakistan, Kuwait, South Korea, and Chinese Taipei 3-0 before edging out Malaysia 2-1 in the semifinal.

The women’s team settled for the bronze medal after losing 1-2 to Malaysia in the semi-finals

The women’s Indian team finished second in Pool B with two wins and a loss. The women beat Iran and Singapore 3-0 before going down 0-3 to Hong Kong in the preliminary phase.

Results: Men: Final: India beat Kuwait 2-0 (Ramit Tandon beat Ali Aramezi 11-5, 11-7, 11-4; Saurav Ghosal beat Ammar Altamimi 11-9, 11-2, 11-3).