Watch: Andrew Symonds almost hits Shoaib Akhtar on the head with a bouncer

Houston witnessed an electrifying atmosphere, as enthusiasts turned up for the Cricket All-Stars T20, but it was the 20th over of Sachin’s Blasters innings that saw flyers around the stadium. Andrew Symonds bowled a deadly bouncer to former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar. Akhtar walked out to bat without his helmet watching him take guard unprotected the Aussie banged in a bouncer. Even wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara couldn’t get hold of the ball, as it went down as five bye’s. Shoaib Akhtar was quick to get his helmet on, but soon he went back to the pavilion.

Earlier in the day, Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hayden powered the Warriors to a massive start. The duo put up 51 on the board before the former English skipper departed for 30. Hayden, on the other hand, smacked a few blows before packing up for 32 off 15 balls. Graeme Swann got his countryman out while Glenn Mcgrath repeated the same.

In reply, Virender Sehwag got out early, while Sourav Ganguly, Brian Lara and Mahela Jayawardene followed the suit soon. Skipper Sachin Tendulkar made 33 runs off 20 balls, but that wasn’t enough.

Andrew Symonds was the pick of the bowlers for the Warriors, as he scalped 4 wickets, even though he was costly; going over 17 per over. Saqlain Mushtaq was at his best, picking up 2 wickets for only 12 runs in his 3 overs. Jacques Kallis and Ajit Agarkar picked up 1 wicket each.

Sachin’s Blasters ended up short of the asking rate, as they finished on 205/8 in their quota of 20 overs. Shane Warne’s Warriors took an invincible lead of 2-0 in the 3 match series, as they wrapped up the encounter by 57 runs.