Road Safety World series: Wicket-keeper batter Naman Ojha and all-rounder Irfan Pathan starred as India Legends beat the Australian Legends in the first semifinal of the road safety world series on Thursday. The India Legends team was given the target of 172 by the Australian Legends, which the former chased with 5 wickets in hand at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur. With this win, Defending champions India Legends have made it into the finals of the current edition of the series.
The match was played across two days as rain played spoilsport on the first designated day of the match. The first day saw the Shane Watson-led Australia Legends came out to bat after losing the toss. The match was forced to stop due to rain after 17 overs when the Australian side was at 136/5. The team added 36 runs in the final three overs with Cameron White providing the late fireworks. However, Naman Ojha had his plans set.
When India came out to bat, India lost skipper Sachin Tendulkar in the 6th over. Also, Australia Legends kept striking with wickets and kept the pressure on India. But Ojha held one end and smashed bowlers round the park. Irfan Pathan later joined and played a good unbeaten cameo of 37 of 12 balls to help the side cross the line. Ojha played the unbeaten knock of 92 off 62 balls.
In the other semifinal, Sri Lanka Legends takes on West Indies Legends. The match is played at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur at 7:30 PM on Thursday.
India Playing XI: Sachin Tendulkar(c), Naman Ojha(w), Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Stuart Binny, Manpreet Gony, Munaf Patel, Rahul Sharma, Pragyan Ojha
Australia Legends Playing XI: Shane Watson(c), Alex Doolan, Ben Dunk, Callum Ferguson, Nathan Reardon, Cameron White, Brad Haddin(w), Bryce McGain, Jason Krejza, Dirk Nannes, Brett Le
