Legends League Cricket: Pathan brothers star as Bhilwara Kings tame Manipal Tigers

On Sunday (September 18), that bit of history changed as the Pathan brothers turned out for the same team – Bhilwara Kings – in Legends League Cricket (LLC), adding another feather to the League’s cap.

But that’s not all, Irfan, who is also the captain of Bhilwara, joined his elder brother at the crease to facilitate his side’s superb three-wicket win over the Manipal Tigers in the second game of the League that was being played at the BRSABV Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. Chasing a 154-run target, Bhilwara won with two balls to spare.

Yusuf hit 44 off 28 balls, while Irfan made 15 off 13 balls. Together they shared a 29-run partnership that proved crucial in the end. The winning runs, however, came from Tino Best’s bat as he made 15 not out of 7 balls, including six and two fours in the last over.

Earlier, it was Best’s former West Indies teammate, Fidel Edwards, who starred with the ball for Bhilwara, even as the Manipal Tigers’ Mohammad Kaif played a sparkling knock in the face of adversity. It was Kaif’s well-made half-century that helped the Tigers post 153/7 in 20 overs after the early jitters they received from Edwards.

Irfan won the toss and asked the Tigers to bat first and his decision was vindicated when the Tigers got reduced to 15/4 by the fourth over. Running the show was Caribbean speedster Edwards. After captain Irfan gave his team the first breakthrough, scalping Ravikant Shukla with the last ball of the very first over of the game, Edwards took over, terrorising the Tigers with his pace and swing.

Edwards finished with figures of 4/30. Kaif, whose heroics in the 2002 Natwest Trophy final against England is still talked about, provided resistance, scoring 73 off 59 balls to pull the wounded Tigers up.

Kaif hit 10 boundaries before Edwards returned to dismiss him. The former West Indies pacer, who is known for his “you can’t see me” celebration after taking a wicket, finished with figures of 4/30 from his four overs.

The League’s trend to throw up unlikely heroes also continued as Pradeep Sahu made 30 off 19 balls to support Kaif and the Tigers. The 37-year-old Sahu is a former Haryana player, who is also a capable leg-break bowler.