There was plenty room for banter in the low-scoring encounter between Legends League Cricket (LLC) clash between Konark Suryas Odisha and Toyam Hyderabad at Molana Azad Stadium, Jammu on October 7. As Yusuf Pathan struggled to get going, Indian-origin left-arm spinner from England, Monty Panesar trolled him. Panesar asked Yusuf if he is “playing a Test match?” to which the Indian all-rounder replied “I know man.” Later, he asked Panesar, "how many Test wickets do you have?".
The incident took place in the 16th over of the innings. Panesar had claimed one wicket and conceded 13 runs from his first three overs. Yusuf pushed the ball towards covers when Panesar tried to sledge him. He finished his spell with a maiden over. The commentators shared a laugh too on seeing the healthy banter between the two.
Odisha batters fail
It was a horrendous batting display by Odisha after Hyderabad captain Gurkeerat Singh Mann won the toss and opted to bowl first. Four wickets fell in the powerplay overs only. Sri Lanka’s Dilshan Munaweera held on to one end while wickets kept falling on the other. On a slow pitch, most batters struggled. Munaweera stood out of the lot with a run-a-ball 51 featuring three fours and a six. Apart from Munaweera, only opener Jesse Ryder managed to score in double digits. Yusuf's strike rate was very low as he scored seven runs from 18 balls before falling in the penultimate over. Odisha managed to post a below par total of 100/9.
Gurkeerat’s captain knock leads Hyderabad home
Munaweera stood out with the ball as well taking three of the top four wickets. However, skipper Gurkeerat led the run chase while Hyderabad suffered a middle-order collapse. He remained not out for 52 off 50 balls including three fours and two sixes. Hyderabad chased down the target with four wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare as Munaweera’s all-round display went in vain.
This was Odisha's second win from four games. They are placed second on the points table. Hyderabad registered their second win from six games. They are placed third on the points table.
