A sense of nostalgia swept over Indian cricket fans as a former pace bowling all-rounder from the Indian cricket team showcased his brilliance in the final over of a tense encounter in the ongoing US Masters T10 League match.
The game pitted the California Knights, led by Aaron Finch, against the Atlanta Riders captained by Robin Uthappa, a former batter for KKR and CSK.
In this 17th match of the US Masters T10 League, California Knights won the toss and elected to bat. However, the beginning wasn’t ideal for Aaron Finch, who was dismissed for a mere 2 runs. Yet, Jacques Kallis once again demonstrated his finesse, contributing 38 runs off 27 balls to provide momentum. Strong support came from Milind Kumar (19 off 12) and Ricardo Powell (33 off 18), propelling their team to a total of 94 runs in 10 overs.
The chase saw Atlanta Riders’ skipper Robin Uthappa depart early, scoring 16 runs off 9 balls in the 2nd over. Lendl Simmons emerged as the top scorer for his side with 37 runs off 21 balls. At 40 years old, Hamilton Masakadza made a notable contribution of 20 runs off 11 balls. However, aside from them, the other Atlanta batters struggled to make an impact.
As the match reached its climax, the fate rested on the last over for Atlanta to secure victory. Requiring 9 runs off the final 6 balls, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan took the ball.
His first delivery was wide, followed by a dot ball. The subsequent two balls yielded just 1 run each, and in the fourth ball, he claimed the wicket of Masakadza. On the very next delivery, Pakistan’s Hammad Azam was run out, leaving Atlanta with the task of scoring 6 runs to win. However, Irfan Pathan bowled with exceptional precision to Dwayne Smith, concluding the over with a crucial dot ball and securing a 5-run victory for his team.
Match-winning last over produced by Mr. Pathan! 😎⚡#USMastersT10 #CricketsFastestFormat #T10League #SunshineStarsSixes pic.twitter.com/XQKFH46EWv
— T10 Global (@T10League) August 24, 2023
