Road Safety World Series: Sachin Tendulkar fails but Indians succeed

Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar walks back to the pavilion after being out for a duck at the DY Patil Stadium yesterday. Pic/ Suresh Karkera

Despite the Coronavirus fears, Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium was a near-full house for the Road Safety World Series encounter between the India Legends and the Sri Lanka Legends on Tuesday. However, batting icons Sachin Tendulkar (0) and Virender Sehwag (3) both disappointed their fans. But thanks to No. 3 Mohammed Kaif (46, 4x4, 1x6) and all-rounder Irfan Pathan (57 not out off 31 balls, 6x4, 3x6), the hosts ended up winning by five wickets with eight balls remaining.

Following their seven-wicket win in the series opener against the West Indies Legends at the Wankhede on Saturday, the hosts again decided to chase on Tuesday. However, in pursuit of the Lankan side's 138-8, the Indians lost their openers - Tendulkar and Sehwag inside the first three overs. Tendulkar was caught behind while Sehwag was run out. The hosts were in deep trouble when even Yuvraj Singh (1) departed early, with the score reading at 19-3 in just the fifth over. Kaif and Sanjay Bangar (18) rotated the strike well before Pathan came to his side's rescue with some big shots.

He hammered two sixes off pacer Parveez Maharoof followed by a cover drive boundary in the 18th over that fetched 26 runs.

Earlier, skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan (23 off 23) and fellow opener Romesh Kaluwitharana (21 off 25) gave the Lankans a solid start with a 46-run opening stand.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates