On Friday (March 10), the third edition of the Legends League Cricket began in Doha with a match between Gautam Gambhir’s India Maharajas and Shahid Afridi’s Asia Lions. Despite Gambhir’s 39-ball 54, the Indian team lost the match by nine runs, failing to chase down the target of 166 runs and only reaching 156 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs.
Here’s how fans reacted to Afridi and Gambhir’s handshake photo –
Gautam Gambhir Vs Shahid Afridi team in the Legends League Cricket. pic.twitter.com/6RRqVlcoBW
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 10, 2023
Highest point in Gautam career
— _ (@Abdullah2253241) March 10, 2023
Gambhir ne lagta hai acche se daba diya afridi ka hath _
— Gaurav Kalra (@daredevilgaurav) March 11, 2023
Gambhir’s face shows he’s gonna do this next pic.twitter.com/t0kD02oG86
— Rahul Anand (@rah2309) March 10, 2023
GG Reaction Belike -> _ pic.twitter.com/opysWiIoIa
— ______96_ (@Vinod96s) March 10, 2023
Attitude ho toh _ Gambhir jaisa bc, kohli toh chomu hai bc _
— ___ (@hrathod__) March 10, 2023
Gambhir least interested and afridi asusal pakistani asking for loan..lll
— Rajdeep Das (@rajdeeponline) March 10, 2023
Gambhir is reacting like a nai naveli Dulhan_
— Shubham Shekhar (@shubhamvishal93) March 10, 2023
Lol still lose after doing that much overacting ___
— shameer (@kaldekhenge_) March 10, 2023
Gambhir never disappoints __
— Tanmay (@Tanmay2118) March 10, 2023
__ Gauti bhai leading by an Example around the World. Real GigaChad__ pic.twitter.com/6acjtN9Aca
— DJOKER__ (@AniketN_79) March 10, 2023
still this pic… ___ pic.twitter.com/3be4BlkZd5
— RK (@MahiGOAT07) March 10, 2023
Gambhir be like han bss ab hath chhod bhut hua tera
— Arman Ali skr (@SkrArman) March 10, 2023
Although many former players renewed their on-field rivalry during the match, a photo of Gambhir and Afridi shaking hands during the toss went viral on social media. Despite their history of animosity towards each other, the photo showed the two captains with wide smiles on their faces, prompting fans to go crazy over their unexpected camaraderie.
The Lions won the toss and chose to bat first, with Misbah-ul-Haq’s 50-ball 73 and Upul Tharanga’s 40 from 39 balls helping them post a total of 165 runs for the loss of six wickets. The India Maharajas looked promising until Gambhir’s departure in the first ball of the 14th over, after which the team lost momentum and ultimately fell short.
The Indian team will have to quickly recover from their defeat, as they face the World Giants in their next match at the same venue on Saturday (March 11).
