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Afghanistan began its defense of 233 runs by taking two wickets in the first eight balls, including a wicket on the opening ball, in a Cricket World Cup Group Amatch on Saturday. But Sri Lanka rebounded to ease home with a four-wicket victory with 10 balls remaining in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Sri Lankas Mahela Jayawardene finished with 100 runs. It was his 19th score of 100 or more runs in a one-day match. Sri Lanka finished 236-6 in reply to Afghanistans 232 all-out.

But the story of the match, other than Jayawardenes century, is how well Afghanistan played.

Eight balls into Sri Lankas innings, both opening batsmen were out. Lahiru Thirmanne, with an average of 32.26 runs, was out first ball, lbw by Dawlat Zadran.

Usually when a player is out having not scored a run he is out for a duck. When someone is dismissed on the first ball of the innings, that player is said to have a diamond duck. Such was it for Thirmanne.

The second player to be sent back to the dressing room was Tillakaratne Dilshan. Average: 38.94. Saturday: Out for a duck, bowled by Shaper Zadran and caught by Afsar Zazai.

Sri Lankas third man in the batting lineup, Kumar Sangakkara, is a world-class batter with an average of 40.91 runs and a strike rate of 78.13.

Essentially for every 100 balls Sangakkara faces in an ODI he scores 78.13 runs. Anything above 70 runs is considered very good.

Yet on Saturday, Hamid Hassan dismissed Sangakkara for seven runs. Hassan was a major story: He took three wickets for 45 runs, all while playing with an Afghanistan flag painted on his cheek.

It was left to Jayawardene and captain Angelo Mathews to steady the ship. Mission accomplished. Mathews partnered with Jayawardene and finished with 44 runs. It is a sign of Sri Lankas deep batting lineup that three batters could be surprisingly dismissed and still it didnt deter the overall effort.

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Cricket World Cup 2015: Sri Lanka defeats Afghanistan

Story highlights Ashton Carter: Obama considering "possible changes" to U.S. troop drawdown timeline Carter will visit U.S. troops and Afghan officials during his two-day stay in Afghanistan

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter made the comment in a news conference in Kabul with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who has previously called on Obama to "re-examine" the withdrawal plan to ensure his country has the support it needs to maintain security gains.

Carter arrived in Afghanistan's capital on Saturday during his first foreign trip since being sworn in as defense secretary four days ago.

"Our priority now is to make sure this progress sticks. That is why President Obama is considering a number of options to reinforce our support for President Ghani's security strategy, including possible changes to the time line for our drawdown of U.S. troops," Carter said.

"That could mean taking another look at the timing and sequencing of base closures to ensure we have the right array of coalition capabilities to support our Afghan partners," he said.

After Ghani's election last year, Afghanistan and the United States signed a security agreement that allowed U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond the previous December 2014 deadline to withdraw.

Under the current plan, the United States ended its combat presence in Afghanistan in December, but nearly 11,000 troops remained at the start of 2015 for training and support roles.

American forces currently are expected to drop to 5,500 in 2016, and by 2017 the U.S. military presence is to scale down to what officials described as a "normal" embassy security contingent.

Last month, Ghani told CBS' "60 Minutes" that Obama should reconsider the 2016 withdrawal plan.

"Deadlines concentrate the mind. But deadlines should not be dogmas," Ghani said in the "60 Minutes" interview. He continued: "If both parties or, in this case, multiple partners, have done their best to achieve the objectives and progress is very real, then there should be willingness to re-examine a deadline."

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U.S. reconsidering 2016 Afghanistan troop withdrawal, defense chief says

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Sunday called Afghanistan's army "a powerful force in their own right" but declined to say whether he thinks the U.S. can scale back military training and advising this year as planned.

Carter wrapped up two days in the war zone by consulting with U.S. and Afghan commanders at Kandahar air field, an important hub in the network of U.S. advisory posts that are due to close before year's end.

In a question-and-answer session with reporters at this base in southern Afghanistan, Carter declined to say whether his visit had convinced him that the Kandahar operation should stay open longer.

The advisory work here will wind up this summer unless President Barack Obama alters his plan for ending the U.S. military presence.

"I'm not prepared to share conclusions except with him, when I reach them," Carter said. He said he was impressed by progress in professionalizing the Afghan army and police.

"The Afghan security forces have become a powerful force in their own right, and good partners in their own way," he said.

Carter, who started as Pentagon chief just last week, is preparing recommendations to Obama about the future of the American military presence in Afghanistan. On Saturday, Carter met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and said afterward that Obama is considering whether to slow the pace of U.S. troop withdrawals this year and next.

The U.S. now has about 10,000 troops in Afghanistan, including about 2,000 training and advising in Kandahar.

On Monday, Carter was convening a meeting in Kuwait of U.S. military commanders, intelligence officials and diplomats for what his aides billed as a free-wheeling discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the Obama administration's strategy for countering the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

Carter intends to examine the intellectual underpinnings of the strategy against IS, including the bombing campaigns and their connection to broader political and regional goals, a senior defense official said.

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In Afghanistan, new Defense Secretary praises local troops

news,Afghanistan drone strike #39;kills IS commander Abdul Rauf #39;
news,Afghanistan drone strike #39;kills IS commander Abdul Rauf #39; A drone strike in Afghanistan has killed a militant commander who recently swore allegiance to Islamic State (IS), officials say....

By: global power military

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news,Afghanistan drone strike 'kills IS commander Abdul Rauf' - Video

Turkey increases troops as NATO ends combat ops in Afghanistan
Analysts worry the newly trained Afghan army is not yet ready or equipped to take on the daunting task of securing the country.

By: CCTV America

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Turkey increases troops as NATO ends combat ops in Afghanistan - Video