SSS VS KSO QUALIFIER 1

Right then. Southern Super Stars coast into the final, but all is not over for Konark Suryas Odisha. They take a day's break and await their second chance to reach the final on Monday, 14th October, 2024. Their opposition will be the winner of the Eliminator between India Capitals and Toyam Hyderabad, which is scheduled to be played on Sunday, 13th October, 2024. The first ball will be bowled at 3 pm IST (0930 GMT) but our buildup will begin earlier. That ends the action for the day from this game, but we are not done yet! The third and final T20I between Bangladesh and India has already begun while the next Women's T20 World Cup match between Bangladesh and South Africa will begin soon! Do hop over to the respective match centres and catch all the action. ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

Victorious Southern Super Stars captain, KEDAR JADHAV, has a big smile on his face. Lauds his bowlers but overall, says that throughout the tournament, the bowlers of his team were very professional. Feels that to bat first on this wicket was difficult as the ball was gripping and there wasn't great bounce either. Praises his bowlers for starting well and restricting the opposition under 150. Is happy to have players like Hamid Hassan and Abdur Razzak and stresses that half the work is done at the auction table, when the stars are picked by the management, making the captain's job easy. Details that Southern Super Stars have 4-5 people who can bowl and bat really well and calls it as their strong suite. On the big gap before the final, possibly looking for a holiday, Jadhav says that once you retire, everyday is a holiday!

Southern Super Stars' HAMILTON MASAKADZA HAS BEEN NAMED AS THE PLAYER OF THE MATCH, for his fine knock of 67 (49). On him getting a lot of starts before this game, Masakadza admits that he felt that a big knock was not far away. On his feet movement, Hamilton says that it is a lot easier to play in the sub-continent as the ball does not move much. On being asked about his success as the leading run scorer of the tournament in history, HM smiles shyly and says that he just likes to make use of the tiny boundaries.

Konark Suryas Odisha skipper, IRFAN PATHAN, feels that the way his team fought back with the bat, they could have bowled better. Rues the loss of Kevon Cooper with the ball. Is happy with the fight shown by Levi, himself and his brother and then lauds Southern Super Stars for playing good cricket. On his knock, Irfan says that he came out to attack but then had to change gears. Feels there was something for everyone in the pitch and his team was not good enough. Is eagerly awaiting for Qualifier 2 and have the second bite of the cherry for the final and hopes to do better in that clash.

... THE PRESENTATION ...

Earlier in the day, Odisha were rocked early. They were 8/4 in the 4th over and could have been 5 down, had Richard Levi not been dropped by Monu Kumar on 4. The Pathan brothers then revived the innings with a magnificent counterattack, taking the score close to 150, which was not even projected to be near 100 during the Powerplay. The Super Stars were on the money with the ball, with Hamid Hassan, Abdur Razzak, Subodh Bhati and Kedar Jadhav taking 2 wickets apiece. Please stay tuned for the presentation...

Partnerships were the key for the Super Stars. After losing Guptill early, Masakadza and Goswami stitched 82 for the second wicket, which was followed by another 45 for the third. Konark Suryas Odisha were never really in the game post those opening 4 overs and a couple of missed opportunities in the field did not help them either. Irfan Pathan tried getting his spinners to weave some magic, but unfortunately for him, it was not to be.

At 17/1 after 4 overs, SSS were in a bit of a trouble. But then came the 5th over, with Diwesh Pathania leaking 15 runs. That served as a catalyst and the Super Stars managed to to get another 14 to end the Powerplay on 46/1. The partnership had got the much-needed momentum and even though the spinners pulled it back a touch post the Powerplay, Masakadza kept things going. After Goswami departed, Pawan Negi was sent in to finish things off and he really took the chase by storm, making an unbeaten 40 from 20 balls, which had 6 hits to the fence, 3 of which, were sixes.

148 did seem like a competitive score at the halfway mark, especially given the fact that Konark Suryas Odisha were 8/4 in the 4th over. And that got even more competitive, with Martin Guptill removed LBW on the third ball of the chase. But some smart, sensible batting by Shreevats Goswami and Hamilton Masakadza stopped any kind of collapse, for starters. They began slowly, but knew that they could catch up later. And they did.

The losing streak is broken. After twin losses to Toyam Hyderabad in their last two matches, there was a possible doubt of Southern Super Stars losing steam towards the business end. But come the big game, they have stepped up and genuinely stormed into their maiden final of Legends League Cricket.

NO BALL AND SOUTHERN SUPER STARS ARE INTO THE FINAL! What an anti-climatic finish. We were expecting a four or s six but Kotarangada Appanna, probably expecting Negi to charge at him, fired it wide outside off. But it was so wide, that it landed outside the pitch and got signalled as a no ball! SOUTHERN SUPER STARS WIN BY 7 WICKETS AND 15 BALLS TO SPARE.

Outside off, Chirag Gandhi waits for the ball to arrive and dabs it into the off side for a run to LEVEL THE SCORES!

Sees Negi jump down the track very early, does Appanna and bowls it well wide outside off. The ball almost lands outside the pitch and Pawan Negi has to reach out for that, somehow connecting with his swing down towards long on for a single. Moves to 40 (19).

Possibly the last over of the match? Kotarangada Appanna has been given the ball. 2-0-11-1 so far.

Slower through the air, around middle, Chirag defends it watchfully. 12 from the over, 39 in the last 3.

FOUR! Lovely touch! Short, outside off, skids on after pitching, Chirag Gandhi just opens the face of his bat and dabs it to the right of slip and left of short third, for  wonderful boundary. A hit away from the final now, are SSS!

Quicker and shorter, outside off, Negi rocks back and pulls it down to long on for a run.