Legends League Cricket 2023: Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi Power Asian Lions to second straight win | Cricket News

Former Pakistan skipper and head coach Misbah-ul-haq smashed an unbeaten 44 off just 19 balls with four boundaries and three sixes, supported by former Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan’s unbeaten 32 off 24 balls with three boundaries and a six to help the Asian Lions post 99. 3 in 10 rounds. The World Giants could only muster 64 for 5/10 despite former West Indies opener Chris Gayle’s 23-ball 16 with three sixes.

Asian Lions skipper Shahid Afridi, who scored a double in the fifth over by removing Gayle and Lendl Simmons, put his side to victory. Bangladesh left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak’s second double in the eighth over, dismissing Shane Watson and Ricardo Powell by one run to produce a batting maiden, thrashed World Giants by 35 runs in the third match of the Legends League Cricket (LLC). 2023 Masters at the Asian Town Cricket Stadium in Doha on Monday (March 13).

The match had to be played as a ten-over-a-half contest as kick-off was delayed by two and a half hours due to a wet outfield. World Giants won the toss and elected to field. Left-arm spinner Monty Panesar opened the bowling and Asian Lions openers Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan conceded just four runs in the first innings.

Bursting with pride after a victorious night! __@VisitQatar#LegendsLeagueCricket #SkyexchnetLLCMasters #LLCT20 #YahanSabBossHain pic.twitter.com/0kzmqdGPzn
– Legends League Cricket (@llct20) March 13, 2023

Spinner and right-arm off-spinner Ricardo Powell also bowled the second round. He clean bowled on the fourth ball to Tharanga for 1. Dilshan hit the first boundary of the match by lifting Panesar to long on. One-drop Thisara Perera smashed Chris Gayle through the covers for the second boundary of the match.

Paul Collingwood, bowling the fifth over, hit Dilshan over the middle over for a blistering six. Collingwood struck on the fifth ball, getting Perera clean for 10. At half time the Asian Lions were 33 to 2. Skipper Shahid Afridi walked in to join Dilshan but it took just two balls before he was caught by Kevin O’Brien. at long on by Gayle for 2.

Misbah, the match-winner for the Asian Lions against the Maharajas of India, was knocked out on 73 in the opener when he grabbed a double off the first ball he faced from Gayle and then lifted the next one over long-on for the sixth. The pair guided the Asian Lions past the 50-run mark in 6.3 overs.

Skipper Aaron Finch introduced himself and bowled a tight seventh over conceding just six runs. The first ball of Powell’s eighth over was smashed by Misbah for a mid-wicket boundary and the next he leaped long for the second boundary. He also hit Powell’s last delivery to take another boundary and take 14 runs from the over.

World Giants, needing 100 runs to win, got off to a sensational start when Chris Gayle was adjudged by Mohammad Hafeez on the fourth ball of the first over but won the review. However, Hafeez gave only two runs from the first over only. Lendl Simmons hit Tillakaratne Dilshan’s third ball of the second over for six over deep midwicket to take nine overs. Simmons also hit Hafeez’s first third delivery for a huge six for Wednesday.

Gayle pulled Dilshan’s first fourth delivery to mid-wicket for a six, and in the second delivery he hit a long-on for another six. The third delivery hit even more powerfully to long-on for his third consecutive six. Nineteen runs got off that.

The giants of the world may have stumbled, but they are giants for a reason. They’re coming back with a vengeance!

The giants scored 64 runs, including 6 sixes, 1 four and 3 wickets.@visitqatar#LegendsLeagueCricket #SkyexchnetLLCMasters #LLCT20 #YahanSabBossHain pic.twitter.com/GCaMFoTmHd
— Legends League Cricket (@llct20) March 13, 2023

Asian Lions skipper Shahid Afridi, who introduced himself in the fourth over, caught Chris Gayle off Perera on 23 at long-on in the third delivery. He also caught Simmons brilliantly at 14 on his fifth delivery, although the ball bounced off his hand but managed to hold onto the rebound.

Abdur Razzak bowled brilliantly to Aaron Finch and Shane Watson who conceded just six runs in the sixth over. Sohail Tanvir, bowling the seventh over, got Finch to sweep straight to Asghar Afghan at deep square leg for two. Pressure-mounted Tanvir bowled three consecutive dot balls to Ross Taylor and conceded just one run.

With 51 runs needed from the last 18 balls, Abdur Razzak caught Watson off Hafeez’s three in the first eight overs, and in addition, wicketkeeper Tharanga dismissed Powell with a duck as the last delivery was bowled.

Brief Score: Asia Lions 99 off 3/10 (Tillakaratne Dilshan 32 not out, Misbah-ul-haq 44 not out) bt World Giants 64 5/10 overs (Chris Gayle 23, Shahid Afridi 2/11, Abdur Razzak 2/2 )