The victorious Indian champions team pose with the trophy after defeating the Pakistan champions in the final at Edgbaston to win the inaugural World Championship of Legends. Image credit: Screengrab/FanCode
Ambati Rayudu and Yusuf Pathan led the way with a quick-fire half-century and a match-changing cameo each as the Indian champions defeated the Pakistan champions to win the inaugural World Championship of Legends in Birmingham on Saturday.
The Indian champions restricted Younis Khan’s Pakistan team to 156 for 6 and then surpassed that score with five wickets and as many deliveries to spare to win the inaugural WCL tournament.
Rayudu scored his fifty off 30 balls, snaring five fours and two sixes, laying the foundation for Yuvraj Singh-led India’s successful chase.
The former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batsman led the Indian team to a strong start in the powerplay before embarking on a 60-run partnership with Gurkerat Singh Mann for the third wicket and even if they lost a wicket or two later in the chase, the target was always within reach for the Men in Blue.
Yusuf Pathan, who is in top form having scored over 50 in each of the last three matches, contributed by scoring 30 runs off just 16 balls, including three fours and three sixes.
Pakistan had started to get back into the match after losing wickets with ease to both Raidu and Mann, and Pathan’s crucial cameo not only dashed Pakistan’s remaining hopes of the match but also ensured that India crossed the finish line with ease and did not need to worry about the rate required at any particular point in time.
Captain Yuvraj smashed a whirlwind 59 in the semi-final against Australia and remained unbeaten on 15 runs, while Yusuf’s younger brother Irfan (5 not out) scored the winning run off Sohail Tanvir’s delivery at the start of the final over.
Rayudu was awarded the Man of the Match award while Yusuf was named Player of the Tournament.
Pakistan played their league match against arch rivals India and posted an astounding 243/4 thanks to consecutive half-centuries from their top-order batting. India fought back and fell just short of the target, finishing at 175/9 and suffering a heavy defeat of 68 runs.
However, the men in green could only manage 156 in the final over with none of their batsmen scoring past 50 in the summit showdown. As well as losing early wickets in the powerplay, Kamran Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood failed to capitalise on promising starts as Pakistan suffered a long boundary drought in the middle overs, shattering their hopes of reaching a target of 180-plus runs.
Anureet Singh led the Indian bowlers with figures of 3/43 while economical deliveries from seam-bowling all-rounder Irfan (1/12 off 3) and left-arm spinner Pawan Negi (1/24 off 4) put the Pakistan batsmen under pressure and affected the scoring rate.
Irfan completely breached the defence of Younis Khan, one of Pakistan’s greatest ever batsmen, dismissing him with a beautiful inswing that disrupted the stumps.
Without Shoaib Malik’s 41 off 36 balls and Tanvir’s 19 off nine balls, Pakistan might have struggled to even get past 150. But in the end, it hardly mattered to the Men in Blue as they achieved the target with ease.
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