Nangarhar Leopards vs Paktia Panthers Prediction

Team News

Nathan Rimmington made his first appearance of the tournament last time out, having been called up as a replacement for injured Andre Russell. Mitchell McClenaghan was the man to make way, with Johnson Charles retaining his place at the top of the order. There were otherwise no changes to the Leopards’ line-up, but Nepalese spinner Sandeep Lamichhane is due to arrive soon after playing in the World T20 Asia Qualifier. If Zahir Khan is injured, having been unable to complete his final over last time out, that would be a timely arrival.

Key Players

Anton Devcich is clearly the danger man at the top of the order for the Leopards, and it is no surprise they fell short when he was dismissed for a three-ball duck given his importance in the three games before that. He hit 94 not out against Kabul Zwanan – his career-best score – and followed that with knocks of 48 and 77 before his duck against Kandahar Knights.

Aside from Devcich, however, runs have been in short supply too often. Ben Cutting scored 71 from 39 balls when they last faced Paktia Panthers, having already claimed three wickets, but – after eight wickets in his first two games – they have dried up of late for him.

Instead, with the ball, it has been the spin-bowling duo of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Zahir Khan who have come to the fore lately. Zahir was unable to complete his final over last time out, finishing with 1-15 from 3.1 overs to move on to seven wickets for the tournament, but Mujeeb was the leading man. His 4-16 from four overs means he has now taken nine wickets in his last three games, and conceded just 64 runs in the process.

Team Form

Nangahar Leopards have struggled for consistency in the APL. They beat Kandahar Knights I the first game, as Ben Cutting took 5-28, but then lost three in a row despite Anton Devcich hitting his stride with the bat. 

Devcich’s batting was key in the 15-run win against Kabul Zwanan, however – he hit 77 from 46 balls to set the tone in a total of 182/5, before Rahmat Shah’s 3-25 and economical bowling from Mujeeb Ur Rahman led them to a 15-run win.

They could not back it up, however, as they were bowled out for just 110 against the Kandahar Knights last time out. They were only chasing 137 to win, thanks to Mujeeb’s 4-16 with the ball, but they never looked like going close as they lost regular wickets. They slipped from 82-5 to 87-9 at one point, and only Mujeeb’s late-order 16* took them past 100.