Advertisement
Advertisement
LIECESTER: Saeed Ajmal six-wickets led Pakistan Champions to a dominant victory over Australia Champions in the 14th fixture of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025 here at Grace Road on Tuesday.
Chasing a modest 75-run target, Pakistan eased past Australia in only 7.5 overs, without losing any wickets.
Pakistan’s openers started strong in pursuit of the target as they scored 17 from the opening three overs. Sharjeel Khan and Sohaib Maqsood looked in good touch as they crisped a couple of boundaries.
In the fourth and fifth over of the innings, the runners-up of the last edition took the attack to the Australian bowlers, scoring 10 off each over.
Pakistan Champions ended their powerplay on 45-0 with Sharjeel Khan scoring 26 off 18 balls, whereas Sohaib Maqsood made 19 from 18.
The victory was evident for the Pakistan Champions; however, the Australia Champions bizarrely ended their match.
John Hastings bowled 13 wides and one no-ball in the eighth over, eventually resulting in a comprehensive victory for Pakistan Champions.
With this victory, the Pakistan Champions finished at the top of the points table with four wins out of five games.
Put into bat first, Australia’s Champions batting line faltered and were bundled out for 74 runs only in 11.5 overs.
Pakistan Champions jolted Australia Champions with early blows, reducing them to 17-2 in 2.4 overs.
Shaun Marsh was caught by Saeed Ajmal off Sohail Khan’s bowling in the second over, after scoring only seven. Chris Lynn, who made six runs, was sent back to the pavilion in the next over.
After early hiccups, Darcy Short and Ben Dunk partnered to forge a brief stand. The latter played a counter-attacking innings and made 26 off 14 balls with the aid of two sixes and three fours to steady Australia’s innings.
However, Dunk’s removal triggered a collapse that Australia could not recover from. Once Saeed Ajmal was introduced in the attack, it was all his spin magic that bundled them out for a meagre score.
Saeed Ajmal routed the lower order, starting with the removal of Short (2), Daniel Christian for a golden duck, Ben Cutting (5), Peter Siddle (5), and Steve O’Keefe for a single run.
For Pakistan Champions, Saeed Ajmal bowled an outstanding spell, taking a six-wicket haul for just 16 runs in 3.5 overs.
Playing XIs
Australia: Chris Lynn, Shaun Marsh, D Arcy Short, Ben Dunk (wk), Daniel Christian, Callum Ferguson, Ben Cutting, Peter Siddle, Brett Lee (c), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Steve O’Keefe
Pakistan: Sharjeel Khan, Kamran Akmal (wk), Fawad Alam, Umar Amin, Asif Ali, Shoaib Malik (c), Imad Wasim, Aamer Yamin, Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal
READ: New Zealand face major setback as key player ruled out of first Zimbabwe Test
