Irfan Pathan came to India Legends' rescue in the semi-final against Shane Watson-led Australia Legends to guide them to the final of Road Safety World Series T20 2022. The semi-final resumed on the reserve day after rain played spoilsport on September 28 at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur. Australia were dominating the proceeds despite a set Naman Ojha on the other side but Irfan stole the slow with his 37-run cameo to stun the Aussies.
On September 28, Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and opted to field first. Australia got off to a good start with Watson and Alex Doolan going all guns blazing. Watson scored 30 runs from 21 deliveries including six boundaries. The all-rounder was dismissed by Rahul Sharma in the eighth over. Doolan struggled to get boundaries and got stumped out off Yusuf Pathan's bowling.
Yusuf struck again in the middle overs to remove Callum Ferguson (10). On the other end, Ben Dunk attacked Indian bowlers. In the 16th over, Abhimanyu Mithun struck twice. Nathan Reardon scored just five runs from eight deliveries whereas Dunk missed his half-century. The 35-year-old scored 46 runs from 26 deliveries including five fours and two sixes. The game was then interrupted by rain and went into the reserve day.
Resuming the semi-final on September 19, Cameron White's 18-ball 30 in the slog overs helped Australia post 171/5. On the other end, wicketkeeper-batter Brad Haddin remained unbeaten for 12 off eight deliveries.
In the run chase, India got off to a decent start. As Ojha did the bulk of scoring, Tendulkar (10) did not get much of strike and got out to Reardon in the sixth over. After the powerplay overs, India were 45/1. Suresh Raina (11) could not make an impact either and lost his wicket to Jason Krejza in the eighth over. Ojha continued to dominate and reached his half-century with a six off Bryce McGain in the 11th over.
Yuvraj Singh did not look in fine touch and lost his wicket to Watson in the 14th over. In the next over, McGain got rid of Stuart Binny. Watson struck again to dismiss Yusuf Pathan and put India under pressure in the slog overs. When Irfan came in to bat, India needed 47 runs to win off 26 deliveries. Irfan hit his first six in the 17th over off Dirk Nannes. Ojha got a couple of boundaries in the 18th over but India still needed 24 runs off the final two overs.
Irfan targeted left-arm pacer Nannes in the penultimate over. The southpaw hit him for three consecutive sixes to take the game away from Australia. In the final over, he finished the game with a boundary of Brett Lee's bowling. Watson could have bowled himself instead of Nannes as the latter did not look in the best shape. Irfan scored 37 runs from just 12 deliveries. His match-winning knock was laced with two fours and four sixes. Ojha missed his century but remained not out for 90 off 62 deliveries including seven fours and five sixes.
