Twitter Reactions: Kandahar Knights keep their hopes alive after pulling off a thriller

The match could've ended up being a tie as Sadiq lofted one in the air in the last ball but was fortunate to have two fielders collide into each other and mess it up.

By Suryesh M

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3 Min Read

Afghanistan Premier League.
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Afghanistan Premier League. (Photo Source: Twitter)

In a must-win encounter, the Kandahar Knights have defeated the dangerous Paktia Panthers. The game went down right till the last ball of the innings and left the fans on the edge of their seats. Although they won this game, the job is still half done for the Knights. They will have to defeat the tournament favourites, Balkh Legends as well in the game on Thursday to qualify for the semis.

In case they do not win that game, the Nangahar Leopards will go through. The Knights’ skipper Asghar Afghan, who led the side from the front in this encounter was the ‘Man of the Match’. His brilliant innings at the top helped the Kandahar Knights chase down the target with four wickets to spare.

Samiullah Shenwari takes the Panthers to a competitive total

Having opted to bat first, the Paktia Panthers looked to be in all sorts of trouble early in their innings. They lost their top four quickly and the side was down to 48/4 in the seventh over. The team scored 39 of those runs in just the first three overs. However, in the next 21 balls, they only added nine runs and lost three wickets. The Kandahar Knights were at the top at this point in time.

At this stage, Calum MacLeod and Samiullah Shenwari bailed the team out of trouble. While the Scottish batsman scored 40 off 33 balls, the latter accelerated his way to 65 which came off just 43 deliveries. The side recovered brilliantly and ended with a total of 167/7 in 20 overs.

Asghar Afghan leads the Knights from the front, yet again

Skipper Asghar Afghan continued to open the innings alongside Paul Stirling in this match as well. Although he kept losing partners at the other end, he tried to carry on with a positive intent. He smashed 74 off 42 deliveries. Brendon McCullum, yet again, failed to get among the runs and so was the case with Stirling.

A 26-ball 22 from Riki Wessels and an 18-ball 23 from Najibullah helped the side reach closer to the target. But they still needed 11 runs off the last over and lost a wicket right off the first ball of that over. Karim Janat and Sadiq kept their cool and smashed one boundary each. The match could’ve ended up being a tie as Sadiq lofted one in the air in the last ball but was fortunate to have two fielders collide into each other and mess it up.

Twitterati was thrilled for Asghar Afghan for his back-to-back good shows. They also empathised for the 20-year-old Ziaw Rahman who failed to defend 11 runs in the last over on his birthday. The tweeple also congratulated the Kandahar Knights for the terrific win.

Here is how Twitterati reacted:

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APL (Afghanistan Premier League)