MUZAFFARABAD: Shahid Afridi is extremely happy after his Rawlakot Hawks won the inaugural title of the Kashmir Premier League Wednesday.
“So proud of my players and staff, one of the most memorable wins for me!” the former Pakistan captain said on Twitter.
Afridi said that the KPL was a wonderfully organised event and it has great potential and added, “I'm sure next year will be bigger and better.”
While praising the security forces, he said, “Special thanks to Pakistan Army for their wonderful support throughout”.
Match report
On Tuesday, Rawalakot Hawks held their nerves in the final over to win the KPL trophy following a close finish at the Muzaffarabad Stadium.
Set to score 170 to lift the title, Muzaffarabad Tigers looked favourites going into the last over. But left-arm spinner Asif Afridi (3-21) spun his magic, picking up two wickets and restricting Tigers to 162-8.
Hussain Talat (3-18), however, was the pick of the bowlers for Hawks. Zeeshan Ashraf (46) and Mohammad Hafeez (29) gave Muzaffarabad Tigers a big push, scoring 54 for the opening wicket in 5.4 overs. However, apart from Mohammad Waseem Junior (22) no other batsman stayed long at the wicket to take Tigers home.
Earlier, Hawks recovered well to reach 169-7 with the second eliminator's man of the match Kashif Ali (52) again coming to the party with a breezy 52 off just 28 balls.
He was well supported by Bismillah Khan (30) and Sahibzada Farhan (28). Leg-spinner Usama Mir (2-25) and Mohammad Hafeez (2-26) bowled sensibly to put the brakes on the scoring rate.
Nabi took 2-12 and was ably assisted by Mujeeb and pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi to restrict Pakistan to 92-9
Babar Azam and Shadab Khan lead star-studded line-up for Ramadan cricket tournament under Salman Butt
Afghanistan have included three pacers and as many spinners in their line-up
Seven teams have so far booked their places, including Pakistan and India
Alex's father and grandfather both watched him on field in match against Ecuador today
Saim Ayub, Tayyab Tahir, Zaman Khan and Ihsanullah be make Pakistan debuts