Winter Watch: Laurie Evans and Rashid Khan reach APL semi-final

Sussex Sharks pair Laurie Evans and Rashid Khan continued their excellent form in the Afghanistan Premier League this week, as Kabul Zwanan qualified for the semi-finals in thrilling fashion. 

After finishing this year's Vitality Blast as the competition's top-scorer, Evans has now hit 10 fifties in 21 T20 appearances this year - his most recent coming against Kandahar Knights.

After Kabul captain Khan opted to bat, Evans, batting at five, found himself at the crease sooner than he may have expected after Hazratullah Zazai and Colin Ingram fell for 11 and four respectively. 

However, Evans steadied the ship - as he did so many times in the Blast. Alongside Javed Ahmadi, the duo accelerated the chase perfectly, with Ahmadi hitting 39 off 21 and Evans remaining 57* off 29 balls. 

With two fours and five huge sixes, the Sharks star put his side in a strong position, with Shahidullah joining him in the middle and adding an important 33 off 21, as Kabul finished on 173-6 and eventually won by two runs. 

💫 ICYMI, @LaurieEvans32 was in excellent form again last night and hit another 50 for @KabulZwanan!

👊 His T20 form in 2018:
🅰️ 18 appearances
💥 10 fifties

🦈 #SharkAttack pic.twitter.com/uQxeGd83hc

— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) October 12, 2018

Kabul suffered consecutive defeats in their next two games, losing to Nangarhar Leopards by 15 runs and league leaders Balkh Legends by 21 runs, but they were back to winning ways against the Knights - and Evans and Khan stole the headlines again. 

In a match that ebbed and flowed, with both sides looking at times like they could either run away with a victory or lose comfortably, the Knights batted first and opener Asghar Stanikzai looked in excellent form.

His 60 off 31, which included four fours and six sixes got his side off to a quick start, but a tricky pitch and impressive bowling meant his partners came and went, with many starting relatively well but failing to push on.

Rashid Khan was in imperious form with the ball, and bowled Najibullah Zadran for 25 after Brendon McCullum fell for 16 and Nasir Jamal was dismissed for 28. 

After his four overs, Khan had gone for just 14 runs, had taken one wicket and had an economy rate of 3.50 as the Knights set Kabul a target of 153 to win. 

Impressive bowling played its part again as the Kabul batsmen struggled to build on steady starts, and Luke Ronchi was the only man to get more than 30 before Evans arrived in the middle. 

At times he had to dig in, and the chase looked to be getting away from Khan's side, but Evans soon became far more fluent with two sweetly hit boundaries upping the run-rate. 

After starring with the ball, Khan then joined Evans at the crease and the Sussex duo led their side home brilliantly. Evans finished his night 31*, and Khan was 27* off just eight balls, with three consecutive sixes getting his team over the line and into this weekend's semi-finals. 

Never say never! And when Rashid’s at crease, he will make any challenge look like a cakewalk. #APLT20 @ACBofficials pic.twitter.com/jcJHSmUfUe

— Afghanistan Premier League T20 (@APLT20official) October 16, 2018

Luke Wells enjoyed a stunning start to his spell at Casey South Mebourne, captaining the side to victory over Fitzroy-Doncaster with an unbeaten 121. 

Opening for the Swans, Wells led the side expertly, hitting 11 fours and two sixes during his 193 minute spell at the crease, and Paul Amy, reporter at Leader Newspapers in Victoria, described the win as "a big scalp for Casey South Melbourne."

Fitzroy-Doncaster ran Wells' men close, with Zac Elliott hitting 100 before being bowled by Josh Dowling, and Lewis Banthrope finished 98*, but they eventually fell five runs short of their 245 target. 

Wow. That's a big scalp for Casey South Melbourne, defeating Fitzroy-Doncaster, behind captain Luke Wells's 121. Zach Elliott, son of Matthew, hit a ton for the Lions but the Swans won by five runs.

— Paul Amy (@PaulAmy375) October 14, 2018