At the Barkatullah Khan Stadium in Jodhpur on Friday, September 20, Konark Suryas Odisha defeated Manipal Tigers in a low-scoring thriller to kick off the Legends League Cricket (LLC 2024) 2024 season with an incredible start.
But in the midst of the fierce match, Odisha captain Irfan Pathan displayed a lighter side by mimicking the well-known “crooked finger of doom” out signal made famous by legendary umpire Billy Bowden. When this occurrence happened, the Manipal Tigers, the reigning champions, were chasing a target of 105 runs in the third over of each innings.
Billy Bowden lifted his finger and watched as Irfan, who was standing next to him, mimicked his motion
Ben Laughlin smacked Manoj Tiwary on his front pad with his sixth ball, a jag back in that came after he had bowled him four straight dot balls , and so something quite funny happened. Upon witnessing the antics of the former India all-rounder, the New Zealander broke out in fits of laughter.
Check out the viral Billy Bowden-Irfan Pathan moment here:
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Konark Suryas Odisha start with thrilling two-run win over Manipal Tigers
For the Manipal Tigers, Harbhajan Singh won the toss and chose to bowl first. After Ross Taylor, Irfan Pathan, and Dilshan Munaweera were removed for single figures, the top three batsmen for Odisha attempted to compete on a slow surface. They scored 43 runs in total off 67 balls because the wicket made batting challenging. At the end of the Odisha innings, Navin Stewart and Vinay Kumar each struck two boundaries, pushing their team’s total above the 100-run threshold. In the end, they concluded their 20 overs at 104/9.
Also Read: India Capitals will take on Toyam Hyderabad in their first game of Legends League Cricket (LLC) 2024
Solomon Mire and Robin Uthappa of the Manipal Tigers were out for ducks in response. The Harbhajan-led team was reduced to 38/6 in the opening 13 overs as wickets continued to fall. To aid the Tigers rally, Daniel Christian and Obus Pienaar put together a 49-run partnership off of 35 balls. But Pathan held on to 13 runs in the last over to give Odisha a two-run win.
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