CerealKiller
Staff Member
Kabul clinch historic final against Jalalabad
The Kabul Tigers, skippered by the Afghanistan captain Talha Hayat, won the inaugural Etihad Airways Regional One-Day Cup by defeating the Jalalabad Pashtuns, captained by Hayat's deputy, Fardeen Yousuf. Hayat, who finished as the third highest run-scorer behind Zainuddin Rahaman and Yousuf himself, declared that the tournament victory was a gift for the Afghan people, who for too much time were deprived of cricket at home. "I'd like to thank all the fans who came to support us, and also the ones who supported the other teams as well. Together we made this tournament a success." he further added.
Earlier in the day, Yousuf had won the toss and elected to bat first on a belter of a pitch at a jam-packed Khost City Stadium. Jalalabad's openers Mushtaq Gothki and Najibullah Stanikzai smashed 82 in the first Powerplay, with Gothki bringing up his half-century off just 31 balls in the tenth over. After the Powerplay was over, Hayat immediately introduced his spinners into the attack. The tweakers' duo, Naazim Khan and Hamid Zadran, who had been the most successful pair of bowlers in the tournament with 40 wickets at 22, didn't disappoint, and before they could even blink, Jalalabad had lost 3 wickets in 5 overs. Both the openers were sent packing by the chinamen bowler Khan, who first bowled Zadran with a big leg-break and then bamboozled Gothki with a googly that went through the gate. Meanwhile, at the other end, Jalalabad's captain was unfazed by the action unfolding in front of him and had raced to 20 off 12 balls, but after no.3 batsman Noor Ali was caught at the midwicket boundary off Zadran's bowling, he started playing a bit more cautiously. He was joined in this approach by Mohammad Hamza. The duo put on a partnership of 89 from 20 overs before Hamza was out for a crucial 57. After being 200-4 at the 35-over mark, everyone expected them to score 300+, and so they did. They plundered 81 in the last 10 overs to finish on 327-4, with Yousuf smashing 6 fours and 10 sixes in a monumental knock of 137* and Tauqeer Gulzar finishing on an unbeaten 51 off 24.
Kabul's reply got off to a rather slow start. Usman Laghari dismissed both openers inside 6 overs, which forced Hayat to promote himself to number 4. In an almost riskless partnership with Lateef Shah, he steered Kabul to 157-2 after 30 overs. With 171 required from 120 balls, a change of gear was required. Shah hit 3 consecutive boundaries before being dismissed for 77 in the 32nd over, and wicketkeeper Khalid Zia arrived at the crease. Hayat seemed a completely different batsman from the risk-free accumulator who had consumed 102 deliveries for his 81. He absolutely toyed with the opposition bowlers , hitting 4 consecutive sixes in the 35th over to reach his century off 108 deliveries. The next 5 overs disappeared for 87. He slowed down a bit afterwards, leaving Zia to entertain the crowd , who reached his fifty off 32 deliveries in the 47th over, and one ball later clinched the trophy with a boundary through midwicket, leaving his captain stranded on 188*. He wouldn't have minded too much.
Afghanistan's line-up for the first match in the Asia Cup
Zainuddin Rahaman
Abdullah Naqvi
Fardeen Yousuf
Tauqeer Gulzar
Talha Hayat
Shafeeq Alam
Nabeel Javed
Usman Laghari
Naazim Khan
Fahad Wajahat
Suleman Pathan
The Kabul Tigers, skippered by the Afghanistan captain Talha Hayat, won the inaugural Etihad Airways Regional One-Day Cup by defeating the Jalalabad Pashtuns, captained by Hayat's deputy, Fardeen Yousuf. Hayat, who finished as the third highest run-scorer behind Zainuddin Rahaman and Yousuf himself, declared that the tournament victory was a gift for the Afghan people, who for too much time were deprived of cricket at home. "I'd like to thank all the fans who came to support us, and also the ones who supported the other teams as well. Together we made this tournament a success." he further added.
Earlier in the day, Yousuf had won the toss and elected to bat first on a belter of a pitch at a jam-packed Khost City Stadium. Jalalabad's openers Mushtaq Gothki and Najibullah Stanikzai smashed 82 in the first Powerplay, with Gothki bringing up his half-century off just 31 balls in the tenth over. After the Powerplay was over, Hayat immediately introduced his spinners into the attack. The tweakers' duo, Naazim Khan and Hamid Zadran, who had been the most successful pair of bowlers in the tournament with 40 wickets at 22, didn't disappoint, and before they could even blink, Jalalabad had lost 3 wickets in 5 overs. Both the openers were sent packing by the chinamen bowler Khan, who first bowled Zadran with a big leg-break and then bamboozled Gothki with a googly that went through the gate. Meanwhile, at the other end, Jalalabad's captain was unfazed by the action unfolding in front of him and had raced to 20 off 12 balls, but after no.3 batsman Noor Ali was caught at the midwicket boundary off Zadran's bowling, he started playing a bit more cautiously. He was joined in this approach by Mohammad Hamza. The duo put on a partnership of 89 from 20 overs before Hamza was out for a crucial 57. After being 200-4 at the 35-over mark, everyone expected them to score 300+, and so they did. They plundered 81 in the last 10 overs to finish on 327-4, with Yousuf smashing 6 fours and 10 sixes in a monumental knock of 137* and Tauqeer Gulzar finishing on an unbeaten 51 off 24.
Kabul's reply got off to a rather slow start. Usman Laghari dismissed both openers inside 6 overs, which forced Hayat to promote himself to number 4. In an almost riskless partnership with Lateef Shah, he steered Kabul to 157-2 after 30 overs. With 171 required from 120 balls, a change of gear was required. Shah hit 3 consecutive boundaries before being dismissed for 77 in the 32nd over, and wicketkeeper Khalid Zia arrived at the crease. Hayat seemed a completely different batsman from the risk-free accumulator who had consumed 102 deliveries for his 81. He absolutely toyed with the opposition bowlers , hitting 4 consecutive sixes in the 35th over to reach his century off 108 deliveries. The next 5 overs disappeared for 87. He slowed down a bit afterwards, leaving Zia to entertain the crowd , who reached his fifty off 32 deliveries in the 47th over, and one ball later clinched the trophy with a boundary through midwicket, leaving his captain stranded on 188*. He wouldn't have minded too much.
Afghanistan's line-up for the first match in the Asia Cup
Zainuddin Rahaman
Abdullah Naqvi
Fardeen Yousuf
Tauqeer Gulzar
Talha Hayat
Shafeeq Alam
Nabeel Javed
Usman Laghari
Naazim Khan
Fahad Wajahat
Suleman Pathan
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