Mobilenews24x7 Bureau
Muscat, Jan 21 : Yusuf Pathan’s 80 helped India Maharajas beat Asia Lions by 6 wickets in the Legends League Cricket here at Al Amerat Cricket ground.
Maharajas lost opener Stuart Binny early into their 176-run chase on Thursday. The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ Shoaib Akhtar was the man with the wicket as Binny (10) holed out in the deep after miscuing the pull.
A direct hit from Muttiah Muralitharan led to the dismissal of S Badrinath for a duck. Badrinath pushed the ball to mid-off and ran for a single but eventually fell short of his crease, leaving Maharajas on 26/2.
The Lions had a superb powerplay and they ensured to keep Naman Ojha and Mohammad Kaif silent. Soon, Umar Gul struck for Lions as Ojha (20) dragged the ball on to his stumps, bringing in Yusuf at no.5.
Yusuf got off the mark with a boundary followed by a maximum and again a four off Gul. Kaif, too, changed his gears and smashed a couple of boundaries in the next over. Muralitharan appealed for leg-before and the on-field umpire signalled out but Yusuf immediately reviewed it. The replays suggested the ball was sliding down leg-side and missing the stumps, thus giving a life to Yusuf on 16.
Yusuf brought up his well-deserved fifty from 28 balls with a maximum off Mohammad Hafeez. He then smashed three consecutive boundaries off Azhar Mahmood. The batting partners Yusuf and Kaif reached their 100-run stand from 59 balls.
Asghar Afghan and wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal silenced the stadium as Yusuf (80 off 40 balls) was run out. Kaif played the ball towards deep point and signalled a second run. As soon as Yusuf set off, Afghan threw the ball to the keeper who completed the formalities.
Yusuf’s departure brought in his brother Irfan Pathan. Irfan carried on from where Yusuf had left, smashing one six and two fours off Nuwan Kulasekara. Kaif (42 not out) finished off in style with a boundary to seal the match with five balls to spare.
Earlier, Upul Tharanga and Misbah-ul-Haq powered Lions to post 175/7 after being put into bat. Binny struck for Maharajas in the very first over, dismissing Tillakaratne Dilshan (5) leg-before but not before a review.
The pacer convinced captain Mohammad Kaif to go upstairs. The utraedge confirmed there was no bat involved and the ball would have knocked down the off-stump, forcing the umpire to overturn her decision. Interestingly, four women officials were appointed to overlook the proceedings.
Binny could have had another wicket but S Badrinath dropped a high catch at extra cover region, giving life to Akmal on 10. Tharanga recorded the first maximum of the tournament as he pulled away to fine leg off Binny.
Kamran Akmal too smashed one maximum to deep mid-wicket. But soon Manpreet Gony got rid of him as Akmal (25) found the deep square leg fielder.
Kaif brought in Irfan into the attack and the left-arm pacer got Mohammad Hafeez on his first ball. On a leg-cutter outside the off-stump, Hafeez (16) gave an easy catch to Munaf Patel at short third-man.
Irfan bagged another wicket as Mohammad Yousuf (1) got an edge and wicket-keeper Naman Ojha collected a low catch, reducing Lions to 79/4. Tharanga along with Misbah-ul-Haq rebuilt the innings and took Lions past the 100-run mark in the 13th over. Tharanga brought up his fifty in style, playing the ball down to the fine leg for a boundary off Gony.
The Sri Lankan continued to take on Maharajas, taking Irfan straight down the ground for a maximum. He then swung his arms through the off-side for a boundary past the cover region.
Munaf Patel finally got the better of Tharanga (66 off 46 balls). The right-hander holed out to the deep cover, where Venugopal Rao took a catch, ending an entertaining innings.
Towards the end, Lions’ skipper Ul-Haq took on Gony for two back-to-back maximums. Just when he tried to go for another, Ul-Haq (44 off 30 balls) mistimed it and Irfan caught him at extra cover.
