Bhubaneswar: Konark Suryas Odisha (KSO) faced a heartbreaking defeat against Southern Superstars in the first qualifier of Legends League Cricket 2024. They lost the match by 7 wickets at the Bakshi Stadium on Saturday.
Being invited to bat first, Richard Levi and Dislhan Munaweera opened the innings for Konark Suryas Odisha. They were down to 8/4 in 3.5 overs when skipper Irfan Pathan joined Richard Levi in the middle. They added 45 runs for the fifth wicket before Levi lost his wicket for 22 from 25 balls. Then Irfan along with Yusuf Pathan added 61 runs for the sixth wicket. While Yusuf scored 43 from 21 balls, Irfan went on to complete his half century as he made 62 from 47 runs. KSO posted a score of 148/8 in 20 overs. For Southern Superstars, Hamid Hassan, Abdur Razzak, Subodh Bhati and Kedar Yadav took two wickets each.
In reply chasing a target of 149 on the board, Martin Guptill and Shreevats Goswami opened the innings for Southern Superstars. They also faced an early setback as Guptill was dismissed by Diwesh Pathania in the very first over of the innings. He scored 4 from 3 balls.
Goswami along with Hamilton Masakadza added 82 runs for the second wicket. Shreevats Goswami added 23 from 27 balls. Masakadza completed half century as he scored 67 from 49 balls. Towards the end Pawan Negi played a quick fire knock and remained unbeaten on 40* from 20 balls and Southern Superstars reached the winning target for the loss of three wickets in 17.2 overs.
Brief Score: Konark Suryas Odisha 148/8 in 20 overs (Irfan Pathan 62, Yusuf Pathan 43, Richard Levi 22; Hamid Hassan 2/17, Abdur Razzak 2/19, Subodh Bhati 2/29, Kedar Yadav 2/33) lost to Southern Superstars 149/3 in 17,2 overs (Shreevats Goswami 23, Hamilton Masakadza 67, Pawan Negi 40 n.o) by 7 wickets.
