According to the Afghanistan Cricket Board’s annual domestic cricket schedule, the Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan Grade 1 Provincial T20 Tournament began today. In the opening matches, Kandahar-A defeated Logar by 8 wickets, while Nangarhar beat the Chairman-XI by 11 runs. It should be noted that the Group B matches will also begin tomorrow in Nangarhar province.
The match between Logar and
Kandahar-A was played at the Kandahar Cricket Stadium. Kandahar-A won the toss
and chose to bowl first. Logar scored only 98 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in
their allotted 20 overs. For Logar, Saber Hanif scored 28 runs and Sohail Khan
made 25. From Kandahar-A’s bowlers, Ahmad Wali Sayal took 3 wickets and Shah
Mohammad claimed 2.
Kandahar-A chased the target in
the 16th over, losing just 2 wickets. Team captain Numan Shah remained unbeaten
on 51 runs, while Imran Mazari added 22. For Logar in bowling, Rashid Zazai and
Mohammadullah took one wicket each.
At the end of the match,
Kandahar-A bowler Ahmad Wali Sayal was named Player of the Match for his
crucial 3 wickets.
The second match of the day was
played at Quraishi Cricket Ground in Kandahar, where Nangarhar defeated the
Chairman-XI by 11 runs. Batting first, Nangarhar posted a total of 159 runs in
20 overs. Tariq Stanikzai scored 42, Akbar Musazai made 38, and Irshad Safi
added 32 runs. For Chairman-XI, bowler Lutfullah took 2 wickets.
In reply, Chairman-XI managed 147
runs for the loss of 3 wickets in their 20 overs, loosing the match by 11 runs.
Mobeen Khan scored 52 runs, while Fazal Usmani and Ejaz Ahmad scored 26 runs
each. From Nangarhar’s bowlers, Usman Younis took 2 wickets and Yama Arab
claimed 1.
The Player of the Match award
went to Nangarhar batter Akbar Musazai for his quick 38 runs.
It is worth mentioning that the
Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan Grade 1 Provincial T20 Tournament will continue
tomorrow with the following matches:
- Logar vs Nangarhar at Kandahar Cricket Ground,
Kandahar
- Khost-B vs Domestic 2 at Quraishi Cricket Ground,
Kandahar
- Kabul-A vs Khost at Ghazi Amanullah Khan Cricket
Ground, Nangarhar
- Nangarhar-B vs Domestic at Najibullah Tarakai Cricket
Ground, Nangarhar