Twitter Reactions: Mohammad Nabi and his boys humble the Leopards in the semi-final
This win is the second largest margin of victory in T20 cricket till date.
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The tournament favourites Balkh Legends are going from strength to strength in this edition. They seem to be a force to reckon with as they have now progressed to the final of the inaugural edition of the APL. And, they did that resplendently by defeating the Nangarhar Leopards by an unimaginable 171 runs. Skipper Mohammad Nabi was the star of the night.
The first semi-final against the Nangarhar Leopards ended up being a completely one-sided competition. Their win is the second largest margin of victory in T20 cricket till date. First, they set a huge total of 235 runs on the board. Then, the Balkh Legends bowled out the opposition for a mere 64 runs to clinch one of the most convincing wins.
The openers take the team off to a flyer
Having opted to bat first, Chris Gayle continued to exactly where he left off in the previous game. The Jamaican pushed the bowlers on the back foot right at the start to get to 54 off just 30 balls. His new opening partner Darwish Rasooli played the second fiddle until Gayle was dismissed and took things under his control once the 39-year-old got out. Rasooli impressed everyone with 78 off just 45 balls.
Then, Colin Munro looked to be in decent touch as he made his way to 33 off 22 balls. However, it was Mohammad Nabi who set the stage on fire with 47 off just 16 balls. But, after he got out, the Legends could only get 18 off the last 14 balls of the innings. Even though the end wasn’t impressive, the first 17 overs of the innings were so oppressive that they got to 235 runs.
Mohammad Nabi shatters the top order
Chasing 235 on such a big occasion was never going to be easy. It clearly showed when the Leopards were batting as everyone was trying to go hard at the bowlers. Nabi opened the bowling and was on fire with the ball. He picked three wickets in his opening spell and came back later to pick another one.
Only three batsmen out of the eleven could get to the double figures. But none of them even managed to get past 15 runs. Qais Ahmad complemented Mohammad Nabi brilliantly as he picked three wickets in his four overs. The opposition was bowled out for just 64 runs in 13.1 overs.
Mohammad Nabi, for his splendid show with the bat as well as the ball, was undoubtedly the ‘Man of the Match’. Twitterati seemed to be elated was this brilliant show from one of the most experienced Afghan player. Also, they hailed Chris Gayle, Darwish Rasooli and Qais Ahmad for putting up good performances. The Leopards were heavily trolled for such a disappointing display.
Here is how Twitterati reacted:
Waiting for the Universe Boss @henrygayle to hit it out of the Sharjah stadium. Always fun to see him bat. #AfghanistanPremierLeague
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 19, 2018
Completely decimating the Leopards, the Legends happily march on! #APLT20 @ACBofficials pic.twitter.com/fpAmiXVlWX
— Afghanistan Premier League T20 (@APLT20official) October 19, 2018
Well deserved fifty @henrygayle thank you for always entertaining us with your fearless cricket #AfghanistanPremierLeague @sachin_rt
— Sachin Tendulkar £C (@Sachin_rt_200) October 19, 2018
Congratulations to Balkh Legends!
Into the first ever Afghanistan Premier League Final with a massive win over Nangarhar Leopards.#APLT20 #APL2018 #BLvNL
— CricBlog (@cric_blog) October 20, 2018
Who the hell in this earth made @Cuttsy31 a Captain ?
Total waste player.
Had NL made any Afghan player captain for e.g Mujeeb and then played Nepalese Leggie inplace of Cutting would have made better season for them.
Leggies have greater impact in T20 games.#APLT20 #APL2018— Mr.Perfect (@mr_perfect278) October 20, 2018
What a win by @balkhlegendsoff against @Team_Nangarhar.@henrygayle ,@MohammadNabi007 and #rasooli you beauty.@Team_Nangarhar all out in just 64 chasing 235 in first semifinal.@balkhlegendsoff won by 171 runs.
— Kamran Hussain (@Sukoonistani) October 19, 2018
Congratulations to Mohammad Nabi
— Jamal Nizami (@jamal_nizami) October 19, 2018
Congurats @balkh_legend qualify to the Final of #APL2018 🇦🇫✌💪
Captain innings by Cool Captain @MohammadNabi007 #Bat 47 by 16 balls #Bowl 4 Wickets 💪👍✌👏
And great batting by Darwish Rasoli 👏 pic.twitter.com/8SQIaJ6Ugy— Fazal Farhan (@FazalFarhan6) October 19, 2018
.@henrygayle's innings of 54(30) against Nangarhar Leopards
Ball-by-ball clips and live-streaming: https://t.co/2jtv3RD9ns #APLT20 pic.twitter.com/oetKpUVEWR
— Balkh Legends (@balkh_legend) October 20, 2018
Nabi, the wizard who got everyone spellbound with his batting AND bowling! Congratulations on this spectacular feat. Legends all the way! #APLT20 @ACBofficials pic.twitter.com/jCCXeE223M
— Afghanistan Premier League T20 (@APLT20official) October 19, 2018
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