LAHORE: Afghanistan's cricket team will become the first foreign national side to play in Pakistan, two years after internationals were suspended over security fears, an official said Saturday. International cricket has been suspended in Pakistan since March 2009, when gunmen attacked a convoy carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in the eastern city of Lahore. “Afghanistan will send its national team to Pakistan in July and play the Pakistan ‘A' team, and hopefully this will benefit our team,” Naseem Ullah Danish, chief executive of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, said. Danish met Pakistan Cricket Board officials in Lahore Friday where they agreed to play a three-match one-day series, with games in Lahore, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi. Five Afghan regional teams and their under-19 string are playing their domestic matches in the Pakistani border town of Peshawar, as their main grounds are being renovated. Delhi, Kolkata win Virender Sehwag smashed a 47-ball 80 on a difficult pitch to set up Delhi Daredevils' 38-run win over Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the Indian Premier League Saturday. The skipper hit five sixes and eight fours as Delhi posted 157-7 before dismissing Kochi for 119 for its third victory in eight matches of the Twenty20 tournament. In another match, Kolkata Knight Riders scored an eight-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab, achieving a modest 120-run target with more than two overs to spare for their fifth win in eight games. Ravindra Jadeja (31) and Australian Brad Hodge (27) were the main run-getters for Kochi. Skipper Gautam Gambhir (45 not out) and Manoj Tiwary (34 not out) helped Kolkata win with an unfinished 85-run stand for the third wicket. Kolkata and Mumbai each have 10 points, followed by Bangalore (nine), Rajasthan (nine), Chennai (eight), Deccan (six), Delhi (six), Punjab (six), Kochi (six) and Pune (four). Brief scores: Delhi Daredevils 157-7 in 20 overs (V. Sehwag 80; Y. Nagar 22, T. Brit 20; S. Sreesanth 2-10). Kochi Tuskers Kerala 119 in 18.5 overs (R. Jadeja 31, B. Hodge 27; M. Morkel 3-18, R. van der Merwe 3-20, Irfan Pathan 2-27, A. Agarkar 2-23). Kings XI Punjab 119-6 in 20 overs (D. Karthik 42, A. Gilchrist 26; Iqbal Abdulla 2-19). Kolkata Knight Riders 120-2 in 17.2 overs (G. Gambhir 45 not out, M. Tiwary 34 not out, E. Morgan 28) by eight wickets.
