Kandahar Start with a Bang Kochian and Kunduz Find Victories

The Group B, D, and F leg of the Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan provincial grade II competitions started today in the three provinces. Kandahar comprehensively beat Maidan Wardak by 10 wickets to start their campaign in the tournament with a bang. Kochian and Kunduz provinces were handed with victoires, courtesy of their fine display with the bat and ball.

In the first game of the day, Kandahar province faced Maidan Wardak in Kandahar where the hosts won the toss and elected to bowl first. They bowled exceptionally well and restricted the opponents to just 67 runs. They chased inside the first ten overs by 10 overs. Khial Mohammad took 3/7 in 8 overs, Ahmad Zia and Bashir Ahmad also picked up two wickets whereas Noman Shah and Ali Ahmad scored unbeaten 41* and 24* runs respectively to take their home to a huge win in their first game. Khial Mohammad was adjudged as the player of the match for his splendid bowling figures.

Kochian and Baghlan were the other two teams that met in Khost this morning, Baghlan opted to bat, where they got a solid start scoring 103 runs in the first 30 overs. Though they had wickets in hand but were not provided with enough opportunities by the Kochian bowlers. Baghlan finished on 223/6 in their 50 overs. Ikram Shinwari (51) and Farid (50) scored half-centuries while Lal Mohammad added 47 runs. For Kochian, Dilagha and Mohabbat Momand took 2 wickets each while Iqdamulhaq picked one.

Kochian anchored the chase quite well and managed to chase down the target with 9 wickets in hand. Dilagha followed his good bowling display with a gritty half-century and scored an unbeaten whereas Barakzai Naseri scored an excellent 103* and Khairullah Abid contributed with 24 runs respectively. Barakzai Naseri was awarded the player of the match award for his unbeaten hundred.

In Ghazi Amanullah Khan Cricket Stadium, Kunduz played Laghman for their first game in the tournament. Kunduz opted to bat first and posted a good-looking 274 runs on the board. Thanks to some excellent displays from Khairullah (72), Hayatullah (62), Juma Gul (59*) and Hikmatullah Jabarkhel (47). For Laghman, Gulzar took 2, Sami, Zubair and Walid got one wicket each.

Laghman started their inning well and fetched the chase accordingly. Naweedullah Ahmadzai scored 79, Shahkhesraw made 37, Qasim Oryakhel contributed with 36 and Imran Hassan ticked with 25 runs but those contributions were not enough to take them over the line. For Kunduz, Mohammad Gul bagged 4 while Rohullah Arab took 3 wickets. Mohammad Gul was awarded as the player of the match.

Farah will face Zabul in Kandahar, Logar will meet Paktika in Khost while Samangan will be playing Jozjan in Ghazi Amanullah Khan Cricket Stadium in Nangarhar tomorrow.