Winter Watch: Laurie Evans and Rashid Khan fall just short of APL glory

It wasn't to be for Laurie Evans and Rashid Khan in the Afghanistan Premier League, as their Kabul Zwanan side fell just short in Sunday's final.

On Saturday evening, Kabul soared into the APL's showpiece event with a commanding over Paktia Panthers, thumping their opponents to win by a resounding 90 runs. 

Evans was in typically good form, scoring 31 off 21 balls, before Khan added a quickfire 35 off 19 at the end of the innings to put his side in a strong position. 

On Thursday night, the Panthers had beaten a weakened Zwanan side who had rested Evans and Khan, but on Saturday, Khan was at his unplayable best with the ball.

From 3.5 overs, our overseas star, who is returning for the 2019 Vitality Blast, took four wickets for just 20 runs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Samiullah Shenwari, Isuru Udana and Azmatullah Omarzai all fell victim to the best T20 bowler on the planet and Kabul raced home with ease.

👏 Good luck to @LaurieEvans32 and @rashidkhan_19 in tonight’s @APLT20official semi-final!

➡️https://t.co/i7shOwWVgF pic.twitter.com/jlx4WBeXNB

— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) October 20, 2018

In the final, Kabul were up against Balkh Legends, who had finished top of the group with a squad filled with stars such as Chris Gayle and Ravi Bopara.

After winning the toss, Khan opted to bat first but his side were given an early blow when Luke Ronchi was dismissed in the second over of the match. 

Wayne Parnell (21) and Colin Ingram (21) formed a solid partnership to steady the Kabul innings, but wickets continued to fall and when Evans came to the crease, he knew he had to accelerate the run-rate. 

The Vitality Blast top run-scorer quickly got to work with a lovely four, and he added 14 more runs to take his side past 100. When he was eventually dismissed, he had laid a platform for the lower order to attack in the final few overs, but a disappointing collapse meant they were restricted to a below-par 132. 

💫 Magic from @rashidkhan_19!

His four wickets, and @LaurieEvans32’s 31, see @KabulZwanan into the #APL Final!

🦈 #SharkAttack pic.twitter.com/A4RHMokAl0

— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) October 20, 2018

Despite their low total, Kabul started their defence well. Wayne Parnell sent back Colin Munro for a first-ball duck, and Darwish Rasooli quickly followed, but Gayle was looking good having opened the batting, and hit 56 off 34 before Khan eventually dismissed him. 

By then, the damage was almost done, and 34-run stand between Bopara and wicket-keeper Ikram Ali Khil got the Legends over the line and saw them claim the first ever APL title by four wickets. 

Despite a disappointing defeat at the final hurdle, Evans and Khan can look back at the tournament with their heads held high after numerous impressive performances from the pair. 

With a total of 305 runs from nine matches, Evans was the fourth highest run-scorer in the competition, finished with the most not-outs (four) and had an average of 76.25. 

Khan was also impressive with the bat, scoring 173 with an average of 57.67, and with the ball, he took ten wickets during his nine appearances with an economy rate of 6.59 - the third best in the competition.  

Over in Australia, Luke Wells was hoping to captain Casey South Melbourne to another win, after he hit an unbeaten 121 against Fitzroy-Doncaster last weekend, but their game against Melbourne CC was called off due to rain.