Twitter Reactions: Mirwais Ashraf assists the Legends to get back to the winning ways

The Nangarhar Leopards lost their last five wickets for just five runs.

By Suryesh M

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3 Min Read

Balkh Legends
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Balkh Legends. (Photo Source: Twitter)

We are almost halfway through the league stages of the Afghanistan Premier League 2018. In their respective fourth game of the season, the Balkh Legends were up against the Nangarhar Leopards. The Legends were humbled by the Paktia Panthers in the encounter on Wednesday. However, they came back strong and proved as to why they were referred to as the tournament favourites.

In a low-scoring encounter, the Legends’ bowlers delivered the goods under high pressure. They defeated the Nangarhar Leopards by 25 runs to climb up to the second position on the points table. Mirwais Ashraf was exceptional with the ball for the Legends picking up four wickets.

The Legends tumble and topple to get to 143

After being put into bat first, the home side didn’t have an ideal start. They lost their opener Usman Ghani for a duck in the first over of the innings. Also, his partner, Chris Gayle didn’t have a comfortable stay in the middle either. After struggling his way to 20 runs off 24 balls, the left-hander got out.

But, valuable knocks from Colin Munro (33 runs off 27 balls) and Ryan ten Doeschate (35 off 27 balls) put the innings on a better path. However, these two getting out at the wrong times didn’t help the team a great deal. Courtesy a 9-ball 17 runs cameo from Gulbadin Naib towards the end, the Legends got to 143 runs in 20 overs after losing 7 wickets.

Mirwais Ashraf and co finish accomplish the task

At the halfway mark, 143 definitely seemed to be a below-par total. The Nangarhar Leopards should’ve easily had this game. However, the bowlers kept on chipping in with regular wickets not allowing the visitors to settle in at any stage. Anton Devcich with 48 off 44 was the highest scorer for the team.

Many batsmen got out on either side of 20s throwing a good start away while others failed to even reach the double-figure mark. From 113/5 after 17 overs, the side was bundled out at 118 in the 20th over. Mirwais Ashraf, under immense pressure, picked up three wickets in the 18th over burying the opposition into the hands of a defeat.

Twitterati didn’t seem to be pleased with the batting of Leopards as they lost five wickets for just 5 runs towards the end and didn’t even attempt to take the game close. They also hailed the bowlers of the Balkh Legends for holding onto their nerves under pressure.

Here is how Twitterati reacted:

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APL (Afghanistan Premier League)