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Afridi's quick-fire ton lifts Hampshire

Pakistan's Shahid Afridi blasted 101 in only 43 balls to inspire Hampshire's 101-run victory at Derbyshire in the Twenty20 Blast quarter-finals on Tuesday (22).

All-rounder Afridi hit seven sixes and 10 fours to power Hampshire to 249 for eight, their highest T20 score.


Skipper James Vince made 55 from 36 balls as Hampshire passed their previous best of 225 for two against Middlesex in 2006 and, faced with an improbable target of 250, the Falcons crumbled to 148 all out with Liam Dawson and Kyle Abbott each taking three wickets.

Hampshire promoted Afridi to opener against the county he played for in 2003 and he swept and drove four boundaries from Wayne Madsen's first over before Calvin Dickinson took two fours from Hardus Viljoen.

Afridi's previous high score in the competition this season was 18 but he pulled Ben Cotton for six before driving him over the top of the three-storey media centre.

He reached his fifty off only 20 balls with a top-edged six but after driving Imran Tahir for another huge six, he was dropped on 65 at long-on by Madsen.

It proved expensive as Afridi dispatched Matt Critchley and Tahir for two more sixes on his way to a blistering hundred before he top-edged another big pull and was caught at long-leg.

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Starmer scraps NHS England to cut costs and improve care

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Starmer scraps NHS England to cut costs and improve care


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Kannada superstar Yash, who garnered global recognition for his KGF films, is once again in the spotlight. This time, it’s for his upcoming film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, directed by Geetu Mohandas. The film, which is highly anticipated, has been receiving praise from Hollywood action director, JJ Perry, known for his work in blockbusters like John Wick and Iron Man. Perry, who joined the Toxic team a few months ago, recently took to Instagram to share his excitement about the project and posted a behind-the-scenes picture from the set.

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