Afghan Cricket Team Qualifies For Twenty20 World Cup

Afghanistan's cricketers have achieved another sporting high for the nation by qualifying for the Twenty20 World Cup for only the second time in Afghan history.

The team achieved the feat by defeating Namibia by 47 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on March 22.

The result ensures the Afghan squad's appearance in the finals, which are due to be held in September in Sri Lanka.

Captain Nawroz Mangal said it was a "big day for the entire nation" and said the team was ready to take on more top-level competition.

It will be Afghanistan's second straight appearance at the Twenty20 World Cup, after the team reached the 2010 event in the West Indies.

Cricket, which was exported to Afghanistan only recently, has quickly become the country's national sport.