APL 2018: Match 14, Balkh Legends vs Kabul Zwanan, Match Prediction: Who will win the Match?

The second league of the matches have begun now in the ongoing Afghanistan Premier League (APL) in Sharjah. One of the marquee clashes, Balkh Legends vs Kabul Zwanan, will take place in the first of the two matches on the super Sunday. Both the teams are on a high and the Legends have a psychological edge on the opposition having thumped Kabul by eight wickets in the earlier face-off. Though they wouldn’t want to take things for granted as they will come hard at them.

Rashid Khan, however, will be delighted with the fact that his team has stepped up to the plate when needed the most. In the first couple of matches, their bowling faltered a lot. But the others have improved as the tournament progressed and are looking a force to reckon with this season. They are currently third on the points table with three wins from five matches and are coming off a 15-run loss at the hands of Nangarhar Leopards.

The Legends, on the other hand, have surprisingly tapered off a little bit despite the fact that the Universe Boss Chris Gayle has strengthened their line-up even more. The team might have to take some tough decisions going forward if the T20 specialists don’t perform to the expectations. As of now, they are at the second position and will go on top if they win their ongoing game against the Paktia Panthers.

Pitch and Weather

The pitch is expected to be on the slower side which has been the case under the sun on the doubleheaders days in the tournament so far. Even a score of under 130 was defended by the Panthers the other day and the team batting first will have an advantage it seems. The weather will continue to be in the high 30s as it has been since the last month.

Team Combination

Balkh Legends

The Balkh Legends have dropped Usman Ghani to bring back the middle-order batsman Darwish Rasooli and are most likely to go with the same combination. Chris Gayle has to fire at some stage of the tournament while Colin Munro has played well so far. The middle-order is filled with the experience of Ryan ten Doeschate, Ravi Bopara and Mohammad Nabi. The skipper can promote himself to surprise the opposition with the way he is hitting the ball currently.

Even the bowling attack looks settled for the Legends. The emergence of Gulabadin Naib has worked wonders for them and the others are doing their job perfectly.

Probable XI: Chris Gayle, Colin Munro, Darwish Rasooli, Ryan ten Doeschate, Ravi Bopara, Ikram Ali Khil (wk), Mohammad Nabi (c), Gulbadin Naib, Mirwais Ashraf, Qais Ahmad, Aftab Alam

Kabul Zwanan

Kabul has been making changes in every game. But the core of the team has been kept the same. Hazratullah Zazai and Luke Ronchi are doing a good job at the top but Colin Ingram’s form will be worrying for the team. Even Laurie Evans hasn’t got enough opportunities batting down the order which might hinder his form. Rashid Khan has led from the front in the bowling department and has shuffled his troops well.

Probable XI: Luke Ronchi (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Colin Ingram, Javed Ahmadi, Laurie Evans, Shahidullah Kamal, Rashid Khan (c), Wayne Parnell, Zamir Khan, Fareed Ahmad, Muslim Musa

Probable Top Performers

Colin Munro – Balkh Legends | Colin Ingram – Kabul Zwanan

Broadcast Details

TV – DSport

Match Timings: 17:30 IST; 16:00 local

The prediction is for the game to go down the wire and the team winning the toss to have an edge.

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