Pakistan's Prime Minister has claimed that terrorist groups in Afghanistan have picked up US weapons and other military equipment that were left behind following the withdrawal of American troops. The Afghan embassy in Beijing has also begun distributing passports, while Iran's energy minister is urging the IEA to release its share of water from the Helmand River. In the meantime, a UN envoy and Afghan official have discussed an upcoming meeting in Doha on Afghanistan, as Pakistan extends the stay of over 1 million Afghan refugees. On the other side, the US and Britain are launching strikes against Iran-backed groups in Yemen and Iraq and Syria, while the Houthis in Yemen have threatened further attacks on American and British warships.
In a dominant display of skill, Sri Lanka's opening batters chased down an easy target of 56 runs to secure a 10-wicket victory over Afghanistan in a one-off Test match in Colombo. With Afghanistan bowled out for 296 in its second innings, Sri Lanka wasted no time in securing the win, with Dimuth Karunaratne and Nishan Madushka sealing the deal within just 7.2 overs.
Sri Lanka's new Test captain Dhananjaya de Silva believes that the team needs to show more on-field aggression in order to improve its performance in the longest format of the game. Ahead of the one-off Test match against Afghanistan, de Silva highlights the need for a change in approach and mindset to re-establish Sri Lanka's Test prowess. With the national team currently at the bottom of the World Test Championship rankings, de Silva hopes to lead the team to a better result against Afghanistan.