ISLAMABAD: Inspired by quick-fire half-centuries from Kamran Akmal and Sharjeel Khan, Pakistan champions defeated arch rivals India by 68 runs in the World Championship of Legends cricket tournament at Edgbaston on Saturday.
The World Championship of Legends tournament sees retired cricketers take part in a T20 cricket tournament. This year’s competition will feature teams from Pakistan, India, England, Australia, West Indies and South Africa.
In the encounter between the two teams at Edgbaston, Pakistan batted first and posted an impressive score of 243/4 after 20 overs. India could only manage 175/9 in their 20 overs, falling 68 runs short of the target.
“At the end of the day we are happy because people are happy,” Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi told reporters after the match.
Asked about Pakistan’s huge numbers, Afridi said:
“I wanted to break all the records today.”
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Akmal scored 77 runs off 40 balls while left-hand batsman Sharjeel Khan scored 72 runs off 30 balls. Middle-order batsman Sohaib Maqsood scored 51 runs off 26 balls while Shoaib Mike bowled brilliantly scoring 25 runs off 18 balls.
Indian bowlers RP Singh, Anureet Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni and Pawan Negi picked up one wicket each.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz and Shoaib Malik took figures of 3/22 and 3/38 in their overs while pace bowlers Sohail Tanvir and Sohail Khan picked up one wicket each.
Suresh Raina top-scored for India with 52 runs off 40 balls while opening batsman Ambati Rayudu scored 39 runs off 23 balls.
With this win, Pakistan continue to lead the table with three wins, while Australia are in second place with two wins and one loss, and India remain in third place.
South Africa have two losses and the worst run rate of -5.296, which leaves them at the bottom of the table.
team:
Pakistan: Kamran Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan (c), Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Shoaib Malik, Sharjeel Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Mohammed Hafeez, Aamer Yamin, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Tanveer, Sohail Khan, Tanveer Ahmed
India: Robin Uthappa, Naman Ojha (w), Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh (c), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Vinay Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni, Rahul Shukla, RP Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, Anureet Singh, Rahul Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Pawan Negi
