Published: Jan 08, 2016, 10:26 AM (IST)
Edited: Jan 08, 2016, 10:33 AM (IST)
A teenager in Afghanistan has been killed due to celebratory gunfire following their national cricket team‘s thrilling victory over Zimbabwe in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI). According to the latest reports, several others were hurt in the celebrations as thousands of fans danced into the streets and fired in the air, the occurrence of which has been reported in the past as well. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, the Kabul Police Chief as well as the head of the Afghan Cricket Board had appealed to the fans against celebrating victory with gunfire, with the President sharing a video message for the same. READ: Gulbadin Naib’s 82 ensures Afghanistan’s win in 5th ODI against Zimbabwe
“We were resting at night – suddenly we heard frightening firing. There was lots of firing – we wondered whether a coup was taking place.
“One of my brothers was on the third floor, my other brother went upstairs to call him to the ground floor then he was hit in the shoulder,” the brother of one of the victims was quoted as saying according to a report on BBC.
Afghanistan edged Zimbabwe out in the last over of the fifth one-dayer at Sharjah, with Gulbudin Naib ( 82 not out off 68 balls) leading the way among the Afghanistan batsmen to help secure a nervy two-wicket victory for the hosts with two balls to spare.
Naib shared a 85-run seventh-wicket stand with Rashid Khan (31 off 41 balls) to pull them out of trouble and win the series 3-2, their second-consecutive ODI series win against the opponents. Naib was presented with the ‘Man of the Match’ award for his effort, while Mohammad Shahzad earned the ‘Man of the Series’ award. READ: Afghanistan retain 10th place in ICC ODI ranking following series win against Zimababwe
