Donning California Knights’ colours, Pathan rekindled memories of yesteryear as the medium pacer swung the faceoff  back in his side’s favour with his economical spell of 2-13-1. It consisted of a tight last over where he conceded only three while defending nine runs.

In his heydays, people associated Pathan with someone who could make the ball talk in the air as well as off the pitch. He somewhat showed glimpses of the past while denying his opponents a victory in the match.

The match hung in the balance when the left-arm quick came to bowl. He started with a wide. Bowling to on-strike batter Hamilton Masakadza, he resorted to a wide line that was out of the hitting arch of the batter. The next ball was angled across as the batter mistook it for a wide and left it. It was a legal delivery. The next two deliveries yielded just two runs, forcing the Zimbabwe batter to hit big. With no pace on the ball, Masakadza gave an easy catch to Ashley Nurse at mid-wicket. He departed for 20(11).

At 9.5 overs, Pakistan all-rounder Hammad Azam was foxed as he shuffled across the crease to get the ball under his hitting radar. He was left undone by the lack of pace and tried to snatch a bye before getting run out for a duck by Pathan at the non-striker’s end.

With six runs needed off the last ball, Dwayne Smith ended his scratchy innings of 9(18) with a dot ball.

Watch Crafty Irfan Pathan soak fans in nostalgia, defend 9 runs in final over

Match-winning last over produced by Mr. Pathan! 😎⚡#USMastersT10 #CricketsFastestFormat #T10League #SunshineStarsSixes pic.twitter.com/PFir5VpWvW

— US Masters T10 (@USMastersT10) August 24, 2023