APL 2018, Match 7, Balkh Legends vs Paktia Panthers Review: Panthers put an end to the Legends' unbeaten streak

No more sides remain unbeaten in the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) 2018 as the Paktia Panthers registered a stunning win over a much stronger and star-studded unit of the Legends. Another high-scoring thriller was on the cards at Sharjah as the Panthers registered only their second win of the tournament by 37 runs.

Mohammad Shahzad and Ihsanullah Janat once again provided their side with a cracker-jack of a start. The skipper of the Panthers stroked his way neatly in the powerplay and Janat too got a boundary for himself whenever there was a chance. But as one would expect, Shahzad did the bulk of the scoring and Janat was playing the second fiddle.

The captain surrendered just a ball before the power play ended and in came the South African Cameron Delport. Janat and Delport stitched a brilliant partnership for the second wicket, where the former was the aggressor and hit a few lusty boundaries.

The duo added 45 runs for the second wicket before Ihsanullah Janat departed. The score was already beyond 100 and the side had a good nine overs left to give a power-packed finish. With Delport exploding in the final quarter and completing a fifty alongside the fireworks of Samiullah Shenwari, they eventually got past the 200-run mark.

They managed to post 204 runs for the loss of four wickets in their quota of 20 overs. Cameron Delport remained unbeaten on 70 off 48 balls, an innings which included a solitary four and seven gigantic sixes.

Gayle fails to lit up Sharjah

Christopher Henry Gayle marked his arrival in the Afghanistan Premier League in not a very grandiose way. He got a brilliant start as he stroked a couple of sixes and a four in the first three balls of the third over. But Isuru Udana came back strongly and bowled a ripper of a yorker, which sent his stumps for a walk in the park.

Some big names in the middle order collapsed quite horribly and there was nothing the skipper could do about it. The Panthers bowlers were on top, hitting the right areas consistently and making the batters work hard for every run on a track which offered very little for the bowlers.

Mohammad Nabi’s 15-ball 40-run cameo seemed just about good enough and raised some hopes amongst the Legends’ faithful. But once Isuru Udana bowled a crunch 16th over, Nabi succumbed to the pressure next over and that was the game for the Panthers. Eventually, they managed to get bowled out for 167 runs.

Brief Scores

Paktia Panthers: 204/4 in 20 overs (Cameron Delport 70*, Ihsanullah Janat 47, Mohammad Shahzad 42)

Balkh Legends: 167 all out in 19 overs (Mohammad Nabi 40; Isuru Udana 4/38, Ziaur Rehman 3/34)

Result: Paktia Panthers won by 37 runs.

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