India Maharajas defeated World Giants by six wickets in the Legends League charity match. Yusuf Pathan’s half-century performance and Pankaj Singh’s 5-wicket haul made the victory possible. Batting first, World Giants scored 170 runs for the loss of 8 wickets, India Maharajas in reply overcame the target with 8 balls and 6 wickets remaining.
Chasing a target of 171, the Maharajas lost star opener Virender Sehwag early in the special exhibition match at the Eden Gardens. Edwards dismissed Sehwag who scored 4 runs in 5 balls. Parthiv Patel, who scored 18 runs, fell prey to Tim Bresnan. Brosnan also returned Muhammad Kaif (11). But the Tanmay Srivastava-Yusuf Pathan partnership for the fourth wicket took the team forward quickly.
Tanmay Srivastava along with Yusuf Pathan took the Giants bowlers by storm. In the 13th over of the game, Fidel Edwards spelled Pathan for two consecutive fours. The Maharajas were at 153 for four in 17.1 overs when Bresnan dismissed Srivastava, who scored 54 runs off 39 balls including 8 fours and 1 six. Yusuf scored the second fastest half-century in the IPL off 15 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad and scored an unbeaten 50 off 35 balls against the World Giants.
Brother Irfan Pathan scored 20 off 9 balls as the Maharajas crossed the target with eight balls and six wickets to spare. World Giants captain Jacques Kallis, who won the toss earlier, chose to bat. Kevin O’Brien (52) and Hamilton Masakadza (18) put on a 50-run partnership in the opener. Pankaj Singh gave India the breakthrough by dismissing Masakadza. O’Brien was also dismissed by Joginder Sharma to bring the team back into the match. Pankaj Singh bowled the World Giants’ middle order. The player took 5 wickets giving away 26 runs.
Story Highlights: India Maharajas Beat World Giants In Charity Match