Hasan Khan Spins Punjabi Legends to Victory

They looked like a completely down and out team before today’s game did the Punjabi Legends. Three games prior to today and they had just the one victory which they got in their opening game, followed by 2 consecutive losses in the 2018 T10 League in UAE. Even at the toss, captain Luke Ronchi had no answers, saying he has the team, but they aren’t able to click for some reason.

They were busy in search of answers and a good team on paper wasn’t going to be enough. They needed to do well on the ground and win all of the rest of their 3 games if they wanted to qualify from Group B. At the toss, they were put in to bat first by the Kerala Knights captain, Eoin Morgan and the Legends came out with another new strategy – sending Umar Akmal out to open the innings ahead of Ronchi himself.

Just before this game got done, we saw Pakhtoons completing an easy 7-wicket win after their opponents couldn’t get to the 100-run mark. That would’ve been the primary target for Legends and they managed to do so, courtesy the last over which went for 20 overs. They got to 107/5 with Akmal ending as the top scorer – 30(17).

Then, all they needed were a few quiet overs to begin with but Universe Boss Chris Gayle had other plans, smashing young spinner Hasan Khan for three consecutive sixes after Paul Stirling was dismissed for a golden duck. However, Gayle was next to go for 35(19) and he ended as their top scorer. In fact, it was an embarrassing scorecard for the defending champions, Knights, as Gayle was the only one to get to double digits.

The scorecard looked like a phone number after him, as everyone just came, graced the pitch with their presence, and left. The person you could credit for this much-needed win for the Legends was none other than left-arm spinner Hasan Khan, a 20-year old bowler from Pakistan who was given the ball immediately after he was taken to the cleaners in his first over.

Some stats for India’s Reetinder Sodhi:

Reetinder Singh Sodhi
didn't bowl a single over
didn't take any catch
didn't score single run 0(1)#T10league
— SAMRAAT (@DynamiteXI) November 26, 2018

He spun his team to victory from there, picking up 4/21 in his 2 overs, while Indian war-horse Praveen Kumar picked up 3/21 as well. The Legends were floundering before this game and it’s good to see them back on track, giving themselves a chance to progress in the competition, with two wins in four games now.

The Knights were bowled out for 71 and this became the lowest total in the 2018 T10 League. The competition has now opened up and the Knights won’t be too worried even thought hey crumbled with the bat today. They have quite a few match winners and Chris Gayle too scored his best innings in the league so far. Man of the Match: Hasan Khan.

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