The first semi-final of the Road Safety World Series 2022 resumed on Thursday at Raipur after the rain played spoilsport yesterday. Australian Legends resumed their innings at 136/5 after 17 overs. They managed to reach the total of 171 after the end of 20 overs. The Indian Legends chase began in grand fashion as Sachin Tendulkar played a majestic backfoot punch against Brett Lee on the last ball of the first over.
After getting beaten on the previous two balls, the Master Blaster brought out one of the most lethal weapons from his armoury. He quickly got into the position and sent the ball through the cover region racing towards the boundary. The scintillating shot from the Legend has been going viral on social media leaving the fans awestruck. Watch the video here:
The class of Sachin Tendulkar at the age of 49. pic.twitter.com/vqp4OWtwSC
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) September 29, 2022
Coming back to the match, Australia legends posted 171 runs in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy of contributions from Shane Watson (30), Alex Doolan (35), Cameron White (30) and Ben Dunk (46). Dunk emerged as the top scorer of the innings, scoring a brilliant 46 off just 26 balls with the help of five boundaries.
Openers, Watson and Doolan added 60 runs for the first wicket in 7.1 overs. Abhimanyu Mithun and Yusuf Pathan picked up two wickets each from India. Indian openers, Naman Ojha and Sachin Tendulkar added 38 runs for the first wicket in 5.2 overs. After the fall of the first wicket, none of the new batters could settle in as wickets began to tumble from one end.
At the other end, Naman Ojha kept playing scrumptious shots to take the Indian chase forward. The other batters played second fiddle to Ojha who looked in fine touch with the bat. India were in a spot of bother at 125/5 losing the last three wickets in ten runs. They required another 47 runs in 26 balls as Irfan Pathan walked in to join Ojha at the wicket.
The southpaw ended up playing a blistering knock of 37 off just 12 balls to take his team over the line with four balls to spare. Ojha remained not out at the other end for a well-made 90 off 62 balls as India beat Australia by five wickets. They will next face the winner of the second semi-final in the final of the tournament on October 1. The Indian legends were crowned champions in the inaugural season of the Road Safety World series last year.
