The Bushfire relief match that took place yesterday with Ricky Ponting XI and Adam Gilchrist XI locking their horns with each other at the Junction Oval in Melbourne, turned out to be one of the most interesting and special matches for many reasons.
Besides the game being played for a noble cause to help the communities affected by raging Australia’s bushfire that has made a devastating impact on vast swathes of the country, the thing that made the game even more special was that the game gave us some major nostalgic feels.
From legendary batsmen including Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara, Wasim Akram, and Adam Gilchrist, we got to see the top names in the cricketing world playing with each other after really long. It was a complete delight to watch out favorites walk on the field again.
After the match, Cricket Australia confirmed that with the help of the Bushfire relief match they were able to raise over USD 7.7 million for the noble cause.
Talking about the 10 over friendly match between Ponting XI and Gilchrist XI, it was won by Ponting XI by a single run. Batting first Ponting XI posted 104 for 5 on the scoreboard in 10 overs, where Brian Lara the legendary batsman and the former skipper of West Indies, turning out to be the top-scorer of the match. He scored 30 runs off 11 balls, hitting 3 boundaries and two sixes.
Chasing the target of 104 runs, Gilchrist’s side fell short of just one run. They started off well with Adam Gilchrist and Shane Watson’s brilliant performance. Both of them added 49 runs before their first wicket.
Adam Gilchrist showed his excellence with the bat once again and proved that age is just a number. He rolled back the time and made everyone soak in nostalgic feels to the time when he used to smash the opponents to all the corners of the ground.
He smashed a stunning six over mid-off, making everyone jump out of excitement. Gilchrist went on to score 17 runs off 11 balls with the help of two fours and a six before he was bowled by Luke Hodge.
Here, watch the video:
Six over mid-off, if you don’t mind!
And Brian Lara retires on 30 ? #BigAppeal pic.twitter.com/HtDYHILu2u
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) February 9, 2020
Twitterati were very impressed with the brilliant performance of Adam Gilchrist as they couldn’t stop gushing about the cricketer.
Here, check out the reactions of Twitterati on this:
Pffft. You don’t make him wear a helmet.
— Andrew Faulkner (@AndrewFaulkner9) February 9, 2020
He’s still got it!
— Russ2468 (@_russ2468) February 9, 2020
Vintage lara?
— Mr. Logical (@kshatriya_patil) February 9, 2020
still powerful as well as in past
— Kamran Khan (@KamranK80147804) February 9, 2020
48 year old Gilchrist casually hitting Brett Lee for six. #BushfireCricketBashpic.twitter.com/T4IYNk6M8T
— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) February 9, 2020
https://twitter.com/ChBadar47842618/status/1226470232652468225?s=20
https://twitter.com/nk0672781/status/1226420232450969602?s=20
Master of class???
— Abhishek rai (@Nishant24495486) February 9, 2020
@BrianLara is a man who is 50 years old. If he says age is just a number, I gotta believe him. It’s like he hasn’t skipped a beat since retirement. What a legend!
— Arun Natarajan (@arun9475) February 9, 2020
Still he is playing better than Sarfraz
— Jawad Ahmad (@Jawadspeaks_) February 9, 2020
Lara Kya Mara! ?
— Kitrakus (@kitrakus) February 9, 2020
