RSWS 2021: England Legends prevail despite valiant fight from Irfan and Gony
India Legends and England Legends played out the best game of the Road Safety World Series yesterday (9th March). While the English side dominated most of the match, an assault from Irfan Pathan and Manpreet Gony nearly got India home. In the end, the home side fell short by just six runs.
Kevin Pietersen once again reminded the world about his exceptional ability with the bat. Perhaps he was showing the current England line-up how to face left-arm spinners. The Indian Legends won an important toss and elected to field first. However, the result was something they would have definitely not expected.
Great batting and entertainment by these two tonight! @IrfanPathan @KP24
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— Road Safety World Series (@RSWorldSeries) March 9, 2021
Kevin Pietersen and Phil Mustard came out to open the batting for the English side. While the former was at his aggressive best the latter played a supporting role. Pietersen brought up his fifty off just 18 balls by hitting Yuvraj Singh for consecutive sixes. He finished with 75 runs off 37 balls in a knock which included six boundaries and four sixes.
Darren Maddy played a good hand but was eventually dismissed after scoring 29 runs. There was no real contribution from the rest of the batting line-up but England still ended with a score of 188-7 at the end of their 20 overs.
Irfan Pathan and Manpreet Gony give hope
While most of the players were disappointing, the Pathan brothers did a really good job. Yusuf Pathan took three wickets while Irfan took two wickets conceding only 28 runs in his four overs. A target of 189 was definitely going to be a very tough one and India needed their top order to perform really well.
However, some good bowling from the English side meant that four of India’s top five batsmen were dismissed for single-digit scores. Yuvraj Singh did get a start but he never looked anywhere close to being set. He was eventually dismissed after scoring 22 runs off 21 balls. A score of 99-6 at the end of 13.2 overs meant that most people had lost hope of India being able to win this match.
However, Irfan Pathan and Manpreet Gony had other plans. While Pathan was struggling at the start he made sure to not throw away his wicket. As a result, he eventually brought up his fifty in only 30 balls. Some amazing batting from the duo meant that India went from needing 78 in five overs to needing only 19 in the last over. Sadly, they fell short by just six runs in what could have been a terrific win for the side.
Gony played an unbeaten knock of 35 runs in 16 balls which included four maximums while Pathan scored an unbeaten 61 off 34 deliveries. Monty Panesar was the star bowler for the English side as he picked up three wickets conceding only 15 runs in his four overs. It was England’s second win of the tournament and they have definitely started off with a bang.
