Twitter Reactions: Laurie Evans steers Kabul Zwanan to a thrilling win in the breathless encounter

A high-scoring encounter in Sharjah between the Paktia Panthers and Kabul Zwanan saw APL 2018 kick-start on a grandiose note. Sikandar Raza and Mohammad Shahzad did the job in the first innings for their side but Laurie Evans’ outstanding knock for Kabul was just about good enough to help them get over the line.

Batting first, Paktia openers Mohammad Shahzad and Ihsanullah Janat were not backing away from playing the big shots. They gave an explosive start to the Panthers and Rashid Khan‘s troops couldn’t do much about it. Shahzad scored a fifty and added 101 runs for the first wicket.

Both openers got dismissed in the 10th over, which in a way was expected to stem the run flow. But that wasn’t to be the case as Sikandar Raza’s blitzkrieg ensured runs kept flowing. Cameron Delport assisted him well as the duo added a brilliant 64-run stand.

Raza took his exploits another notch higher in the last couple of overs as the Panthers accumulated 36 runs in the 19th and 20th over collectively. They ended up posting 218 runs batting first but the dew factor ensured this target was not completely beyond Kabul’s reach.

Evans strikes big as Kabul complete a staggering run-chase

A lot of bits and pieces contributions came from the Zwanan batters, but all of those came at a good strike-rate. Luke Ronchi, Javed Ahmadi and Hazratullah gave their side a decent start, but wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals, which kept both sides equally in the contest.

Rashid Khan promoted himself to the number 6 position and struck a few lusty blows, but got out at a crucial point. A couple of wickets fell in quick succession, which should’ve killed the game off, but Evans had other ideas. He kept striking the ball to all parts from the other end and kept the Zwanan alive.

Evans’ exploits in the 18th over against Raza turned the balance completely into Kabul’s favor and from then on, there was no looking back. They accumulated 22 runs off that over and eventually, they chased the 219-run target with 5 balls to spare.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to this captivating encounter.