Afghanistan take on US at cricket

Sides meet for the first time on the cricket pitch in bid to win place at World Twenty20.

Afghan girl fan

Al Jazeera’s Rahul Pathak reports from Dubai, where Afghanistan are bidding to qualify for their first major cricket tournament – the World Twenty20 in the West Indies.

A place in the Caribbean would mean matches against the likes of India, Australia and South Africa.

But first up is a historic meeting with the US, a country whose troops are still fighting in Afghanistan nearly nine years after launching a military campaign.

With a place in the qualifying Super Four up for grabs, both sides are forgetting the hype and insisting it is just another game.

Source: Al Jazeera