ISLAMABAD: Inspired by quickfire 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 features retired cricketers taking part in a T20 cricket tournament. This year’s edition features teams from Pakistan, India, England, Australia, West Indies and South Africa.
Pakistan batted first in the clash between the two sides at Edgbaston, scoring an impressive 243/4 at the end of their 20 overs. India were able to score only 175/9 from their 20 overs, falling 68 runs short of the target.
“People are happy so we are happy at the end of the day,” Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi told reporters after the match.
When asked about Pakistan’s mammoth total, Afridi remarked:
“We thought about breaking all records today.”
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Akmal scored 77 runs from 40 balls while left-handed batter Sharjeel Khan scored 72 runs from 30 balls. Middle-order batter Sohaib Maqsood scored 51 from 26 balls while Shoaib Maik pitched in with an impressive 25-run score from 18 balls.
India’s bowlers RP Singh, Anureet Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni and Pawan Negi took one wicket each.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz and Shoaib Malik returned figures of 3/22 and 3/38 from their overs while pacers Sohail Tanvir and Sohail Khan grabbed one wicket each.
Suresh Raina top-scored from India with 52 runs from 40 balls while opening batter Ambati Rayudu scored 39 runs from 23 balls.
With the latest win, Pakistan remain at the top of the table with three victories while Australia remain at number 2 and India at number three with two wins each and a loss.
South Africa sit at the bottom of the table with two losses and the lowest run-rate of -5.296.
Squads:
Pakistan: Kamran Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan (c), Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Shoaib Malik, Sharjeel Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad 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, HarbHajjan Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni, Rahul Shukla, RP Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, Anureet Singh, Rahul Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Pawan Negi
