St Moritz: Virender Sehwag showed that he has lost none of his batting skills with a blazing half century for the Diamonds XI against the Shahid Afridi-led Royals XI at the inaugural St Moritz Ice Cricket Challenge here Thursday.
Sehwag (62, 31b) wasn’t undone by the unusual conditions or distracted by the backdrop of breathtaking Alpine range, as he hit five sixes. Following his exploits in the resort town in temperatures below zero degrees, Sehwag took to Twitter and posted a brilliant one-liner about his knock.
Courtesy Sehwag’s quickfire half century and Australian Andrew Symonds’ 40 the Diamonds’ XI finished with 164 for nine from 20 overs.
Former England batsman Owais Shah however, turned out to be the match-winner for Afridi’s team. He hit hitting five sixes in his innings of 74 as his team won the match with nearly five overs to spare.
The match, played on a frozen lake with temperatures hovering around minus five degrees, featured former stars like Michael Hussey, Shoaib Akhtar and Mahela Jayawardene.
An artificial turf carpet was used for the match, with players using traditional cricket gear and a pink ball, but wearing normal sports shoes rather than spikes.
“It is an exciting concept and needs to be persisted with and it can only grow in people’s minds. It can also help St Moritz become a good sports tourism destination,” Sehwag stated after the game.
The highlight of the second innings was when Mohammad Kaif took a stunning catch to dismiss Shahid Afridi for a duck off Powar.
Agencies
