Former India and Asian cricketing legends clashed in the first match of the Legends League Cricket season 2 (LLC 2023) being played in Doha, Qatar. India Maharajas and Asia Lions clashed in the opening bout of the tournament.
The match saw Gautam Gambhir, captain of India Maharajas, and Shahid Afridi, Captain of Asia Lions, rekindle their old rivalry as they awkwardly shook hands during the toss. Asia Lions won the toss and chose to bat first.
Misbah-ul-Haq turned the clock back and smashed 73 in 50 balls, while Upul Tharanga made 40 as the Lions posted 165/6 in 20 overs. Stuart Binny and Parvinder Awana picked two wickets apiece for India Maharajas.
In reply, Gambhir made 54, Murali Vijay (25) and Mohammad Kaif (22) contributed well, and Irfan Pathan (19) took Maharajas very close to the total, but they eventually managed 156/8, falling short by 9 runs in the end.
During his knock, Gambhir was also hit by the ball on the grill of his helmet while playing a shot and Afridi approached him while enquiring whether he had hurt himself.
Check it out here:
The toss was one of the most memefied things from the match as the fans could resist the fact that two rivals Afridi and Gambhir met once again on the field and had an awkward handshake.
While Afridi smiled and shook Gambhir’s hand with gusto, the Maharaja captain was less eager to reciprocate the gesture but shook hands while keeping his emotions in check.
Here are some of the best memes from that interaction between Gambhir and Afridi:
