The game began with Logar winning the toss and opting to field first. This decision by Logari captain Maroof would later prove to be an excellent strategy. The bowlers limited Jowzjan's batsmen to a mere 95 runs a target that Logar could be justifiably satisfied with. Naib showcased his skills right from the word go, He utterly destroyed Jowzjan's batting fluency and strategy. He scalped 4 wickets during his first two overs, that being said; expectations were high from the beginning with this star packed team from Logar. The Jowzjani players couldn’t put up much of a fight and ended their short lived batting with 95 all out in 25overs.
When Jowzjan collapsed 60/6 in the 17th over to 61/8 one over later in the 18th everybody more or less knew that captain Maroofs strategy had been meticulously executed, restricting the respective batsmen from making any significant difference.
The Logari squad had racked up their victory nicely and appreciated the fact that a swift start in the batting section would end this match quickly. In the first 3overs they reached 23runs which was a more than fair run rate to obtain the target score of 96runs. Five overs later in the 8th Logar smashed its way to 68runs. It only took another 2.4 overs before they cruised to the victory reaching 97 in 10.4 overs, winning by a huge margin of 10 wickets. As expected; Naib took the man of the match title especially for his destruction of any continuity among the Jowzjan batsmen.
Next match according to the schedule will be between the two quality sides Kabul and Konar. The two squads posses excellent players who have attained much recognition for their contribution to cricket in Afghanistan. Among the stars are especially three players highlighted; Noor-Ul-Haq Malikzai the captain of U19 squad, pace bowler Aftab Alam and Konari players Pacha Hussein and Obaidullah Konari who was a regular name amongst both the senior as well youth national team but later, due to injuries, lost his spot.
The match is sure to be amongst the more closely challenged matches.
Scores in brief
|
Logar vs Jowzjan at NYCG. |
Logar Won by 10 wickets Man of the match: Gulbadin Naib |
