APL 2018 Final: Balkh Legends Beat Kabul Zwanan

Kabul Zwanan won the toss on 21 October 2018 and batted. At Sharjah Cricket Stadium that was not a timid choice. Two weeks earlier the same opponents had been part of a match in which Balkh Legends scored 244 for 6. The final did not repeat the trick. Zwanan made 132 for 9 in their twenty overs.

Javed Ahmadi's 32 off 19 was the highest score. Around him the innings never found a second pushing hand. Qais Ahmad, leg-spin, Balkh Legends, bowled four overs and took 5 for 18. That is the spell. It is also the best bowling figure this site quotes from the tournament, because the final card is the card we trust.

The chase was tense only if you dislike arithmetic. Legends needed 133. They got to 138 for 6 in 18.1 overs, a four-wicket win with 11 balls unused. Chris Gayle made 56 off 34. Wayne Parnell took 3 for 35 at the other end and still watched the target go. Umpires were Anil Chaudhary and Ahmed Shah Pakteen. Player of the match was Qais Ahmad, which feels right when you look at the wickets and slightly unfair on Gayle, which is how finals often feel.

Player of the series was Rashid Khan. His side had just lost. The award is the footnote that stops this report becoming a simple coronation. Zwanan had Zazai's 124, Evans's 305 runs and their captain's tournament. Legends had the trophy, Nabi's captaincy, six league wins and the last evening.

There has not been another APL final. The 2018 season page has the semi-finals on either side of this one: Leopards 64 all out, Panthers 102 all out. The knockout was not a festival of batting. The final fitted.