Jodhpur: A poor new-ball spell could have ended the game in the powerplay itself, said Konark Suryas Odisha’s captain Irfan Pathan after his side registered its maiden victory in Legends League Cricket (LLC) at Barkatullah Stadium here on Friday evening.

Irfan Pathan-led Konark Suryas Odisha (KSO) have made an astounding entry into the Legends League Cricket (LLC) by defeating Manipal Tigers by 2 runs to win their very first match of the tournament.

The team from Odisha being a newly added side to the league had a challenging start in the match as they only managed to add 104 runs on the board at the end of 20th over. It was Vinay Kumar and Navin Stewart’s quick fire innings towards the end of the first innings that helped KSO to cross the 100-run mark.

Defending a low total

During the post-match interaction, Irfan Pathan congratulated the whole team on their positive start in the league and also highlighted how he motivated the squad to defend such a low total on the board.

He said, “In the mid innings break, I told my team that the pitch was on the slower side, so we need to try and take wickets in the Powerplay. A poor new-ball spell could have ended the game in the powerplay itself.”

Part time cricketers

Undoubtedly, this league is for the players who have retired from international and domestic cricket. The Konark Suryas Odisha’s skipper stated about how it’s always difficult for the retired players to take to the field once again in their life and perform as per their supporters’ expectation. “We're now part-time cricketers and it's hard to get back into rhythm. Still it was a great game for us in the end.”

Gamble of bowling the 20th over

With just 13 runs required from the last over, Irfan took the responsibility to bowl the 20th over. Interestingly, it was his first in the innings. With all the experience under his belt, Irfan made it a point to prove himself again and successfully defended the score to help his team win the match.

When a question was raised regarding his last over, he replied, “I didn’t have any other option apart from Munaweera. I mostly tried to bowl the cutters except one quick ball. I let the batters do the hitting to find the boundaries.”

He also praised his teammates, saying, “Thanks to Vinay Kumar for pointing out before the last ball that Ben Laughlin was tired after a jetlag and hence, he swapped him with Ambati Rayudu at the ropes. I will also praise our bowlers for not conceding a single boundary for 13 overs.”

Konark Suryas Odisha will be playing their next match against Manipal Tigers which is scheduled on September 26 at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium in Surat.