Srinagar: Riding on Hamilton Masakadza’s impressive batting and a solid bowling performance, Southern Superstars secured their spot in the final of Legends League Cricket 2024, defeating Konark Suryas Odisha by 7 wickets at Bakshi Stadium on Saturday.
Southern Superstars won the toss and opted to bowl first. Richard Levi and Dilshan Munaweera opened for Konark Suryas Odisha but suffered an early collapse, finding themselves at 8/4 within 3.5 overs. Levi and Irfan Pathan then stabilized the innings, adding 45 runs for the fifth wicket before Levi was dismissed for 22 off 25 balls. The Pathan brothers took charge, with Yusuf Pathan smashing 43 off 21 balls and Irfan Pathan anchoring the innings with a captain’s knock of 62 from 48 balls. Konark Suryas Odisha posted a total of 148/8 in their allotted 20 overs.
For Southern Superstars, Hamid Hassan (2/27), Abdur Razzak (2/19), Subodh Bhati (2/29), and Kedar Jadhav (2/33) each claimed two wickets.
Chasing a target of 149, Martin Guptill and Shreevats Goswami opened the innings for Southern Superstars. Guptill was dismissed early, scoring just 4 off 3 balls, courtesy of Diwesh Pathania. Goswami was then joined by Hamilton Masakadza, and together they put on an 82-run partnership for the second wicket before Goswami was dismissed for 23 off 27 balls. Masakadza led the charge with 67 off 49 balls, while Pawan Negi’s unbeaten 40 off 20 balls guided the Superstars to victory in just 17.2 overs.
For Konark Suryas Odisha, Diwesh Pathania (1/22), Vinay Kumar (1/21), and KP Appanna (1/14) each took a wicket.
Konark Suryas Odisha will next face the winner of the eliminator match on Monday, October 14.
