'That’s how we won the game' - Sachin Tendulkar, Irfan Pathan's son share cheerful conversation after RSWS semifinal

India Legends sealed a thrilling five-wicket win over Australia Legends in the semifinal of the ongoing Road Safety World Series (RSWS) 2022 and became the first team to qualify for the final. At one stage, it seemed like the game was slipping away from the defending champions, as they needed 46 off the last four overs with only five wickets in hand.

Opener Naman Ojha had already laid the foundation, scoring a splendid 35-ball fifty. But with Indians losing wickets at regular intervals and with not a lot of batting to come after losing five wickets, the game was slipping out of the Indians’ fingers. But then came the star allrounder, Irfan Pathan, who played an explosive 37-run knock off 12 balls and won the game on his own at the end.

After the game, Pathan’s son Imran and India Legends captain Sachin Tendulkar were seen sharing a light-hearted, cheerful conversation as Tendulkar was mollycoddling Imran.  In the video that was posted by Pathan on Instagram, Tendulkar said to Imran, “How did we win the game today? He (Pathan) went and hit [tup tup tup] sixes. That’s why we won.” And the caption of the video was “And that’s how we won the game!”.

Ojha-Pathan partnership pips Australians in final overs

Earlier in the game, Australia Legends had set a strong target 172, thanks to a fiery innings of 46 off 26 balls by Ben Dunk at number three. Camero White also chipped in with an unbeaten 30 off 18 balls, giving the side the much-needed finishing touch. The pick of the Indian bowlers was pacer Abhimanyu Mithun, who finished with 2 for 25 in four overs.

India Legends, during their chase, always had their scoreboard ticking with Ojha growing from strength to strength at one end. But on the other, Tendulkar’s men struggled to get going with none of number two, three, four, five and six batters going past a score of 20. But then came the all-important partnership of Ojha and Pathan, which added 50 off 22 balls. Ojha was given the Player of the Match for his unbeaten knock of 90 off 62 balls. India Legends will face the winner of the other semifinal between Sri Lanka Legends and West Indies Legends in the final in Raipur on October 1.