APL 2018: Match 4, NL vs PP Review: Mohammad Shahzad and Isuru Udana shine as Panthers register their first win

The Paktia Panthers have certainly risen from their ruins, after registering an embarrassing defeat in the inaugural game of the APL. They had a huge first innings total in hand, which they somehow managed to slip through, but they didn’t so on this occasion, winning the game by close, yet comfortable margins.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, the Panthers got off to a pretty solid start with skipper Mohammad Shahzad started creaming the ball with utmost brutality right from the outset. His brilliant innings at the top helped them score at over ten an over in the powerplay despite losing Ihsanullah Janat early.

Cameron Delport assisted the skipper quite brilliantly as the duo added a whopping 80 runs inside no time. Just on the cusp of completing 10 overs, Delport gave away his wicket and Shahzad followed him in the next over, putting their side in deep trouble. Zahir Khan was the man who did the damage and he immediately sent Sikandar Raza back as well, the man who played a stellar knock in the previous game.

Samiullah Shenwari was handed the responsibility to give the side a decent finish and he did a pretty decent job. The Leopards bowlers managed to restrict the flow of runs, bringing the scoring rate down to just over eight an over. Ben Cutting once again chipped in with a few wickets which certainly didn’t help the Panthers’ cause.

Eventually, they could manage 184 runs in their 20 overs as skipper Cutting once again returned with the best figures amongst his bowlers. He registered figures of 3/25 whilst Zahir Khan returned with 2 wickets, giving away 22 runs in his four overs.

The “Cutting-Edge” almost gets the Leopards over the line

Talk about an ideal start to big run chase, the Leopards well and truly didn’t get one. The Panthers bowlers did a fantastic job to restrict their batsmen in the field-restricted overs and the likes of Isuru Udana and Shahid Afridi brought in all their experience to torment their top order.

They lost three wickets in the power play and almost immediately after the sixth over, Sharafuddin Ashraf sent Rahmat Shah back, which saw them lose four wickets for 38 runs. After the end of their 10 overs, they didn’t even get to the 60-run mark, which pretty much was the end of the game.

But Hasmatullah Shahidi and Ben Cutting put on an improbable stand for the sixth wicket, which got the Leopards slightly back in the game. The required run rate already had gone up way too much, but Cutting’s exploits in the 17th and 18th over saw the equation come down to 34 runs in the final two overs.

But Isuru Udana gave away just 5 runs in the 19th over, which settled the game for the Panthers, who eventually won by 21 runs. After bottling a 218-run first innings total, the Panthers once again came close to losing a game which they had in hand, giving their management something to think about.

Brief Scores

Paktia Panthers: 184/8 in 20 overs (Mohammad Shahzad 53; Ben Cutting 3/25)

Nangarhar Leopards: 163/6 in 20 overs (Ben Cutting 71, Hashmatullah Shahidi 49*; Isuru Udana 2/28)

Result: Paktia Panthers won by 21 runs.

Player of the match: Ben Cutting

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