Right then, that's it from the coverage of this game and the inaugural edition of the World Championship of Legends. India Champions now gather together, Yuvraj Singh strides towards them with the trophy and the celebrations have begun for India. This series does come to end, but there is plenty of cricketing action happening around the country. Keep your eyes open on our site, and join us in the future for some enthralling cricketing action, just like this one. ADIOS! TAKE CARE!
Yuvraj Singh, the victorious skipper is in for a chat now. He starts by saying that the boys showed some great character after losing three games. Praises the bowlers who got the momentum from the very first over. Adds that it was a good toss to lose, and informs how important Ambati Rayudu's knock was in this inning. Says that whenever he needed Harbhajan Singh, he always stepped up. Informs that a skipper needs to react according to the situation and that is what they did. He ends by praising the crowd for their support throughout the contest.
Younis Khan, the skipper of Pakistan says that India played like legends. Adds that in big finals there needs to be good partnerships that were missing in their side which was crucial and cost them the game. Appreciates the way the tournament went through and says how competitive it has been for all the sides and thanks the management and fans for making it happen.
Yusuf Pathan wins the Player of the Tournament award for his extraordinary effort with the bat. He starts by saying that he has practised just a couple of times before coming into this series. Informs that Pakistan is a solid team and the ball was reversing as well. Adds the importance of the families presence at this tournament has been crucial.
Ambati Rayudu is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his 50 runs of 30 balls. He says the quality of cricket was tremendous and it took them some time to adjust but is happy to have won it. Appreciates Harbhajan and Yuvraj on how they have guided the team in the right direction and taken care of the juniors. Mentions what the talk was about in the middle and how Yuvraj said to keep things simple and not go very aggressive.
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Robin Uttappa is down for a chat too. He says it's a great feeling and is happy about how the team played in the last two games and showed their true potential. Adds that it is fantastic to play a tournament like this and join the old mates and be young again.Robin Uttappa is down for a chat too. He says it's a great feeling and is happy about how the team played in the last two games and showed their true potential. Adds that it is fantastic to play a tournament like this and join the old mates and be young again.
Ambati Rayudu now joins for a chat. He says it's hard to come back and play cricket and this wasn't as easy league and they had to up their game after a few bad games. Appreciates Yuvraj Singh and the team management who have gotten this team up and running. Concludes that the crowd support for both the teams was fantastic and thanks them.
Harbhajan Singh is in for a quick chat here. He says winning this game, especially against Pakistan means a lot. Appreciates the fans for the support and says that both teams played really well. States that they came here without any game time and suddenly they had to pull up their socks and put in hard work and the team peaked at the right time and that helped.
Earlier in the innings, the Pakistan Champions won the toss and elected to bat first, although the India Champions bowlers were on the money with the ball in hand. They might feel they were a bit loose with the new ball but they did pull back things quite brilliantly later on in the innings as they kept Pakistan under a par score. India Champions bowlers were consistent with the lines and length throughout the middle phase and kept things pretty tight. The top-order of Pakistan Champions started well, but could not really convert it into a solid score. It was only Shoaib Malik who was able to put his hand up with the bat in the middle order, but they could not find any real contributions from the rest of the pack after him. For India Champions it was Anureet Singh who stood out with the ball with his three-wicket haul.
Defending an under-par target on this wicket was never going to be an easy task for Pakistan Champions, but they started quite positively in their defence. Once again, Aamer Yamin stood up for hi side with the ball in hand as he picked up two wickets in quick succession. Then came in a period when Pakistan Champions tried to get their spinner into play. They got a couple more wickets in the early stage of the second phase of this run-chase but could not really be persistent with their pressure allowing the batters to keep scoring at a brisk rate. India Champions picked up runs with ease and in the end, got over the line without any fuss. Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz and Saeed Ajmal picked a wicket apiece in this contest as well, although it wasn't enough.
India Champions had to chase down 157 runs which isn't considered to be a huge target is such conditions. They bowled well early on, followed by some sensational and sensible batting which allowed India Champions to make it through. The India Champions batters had to pull their socks up and one would say they peaked at the right time of the tournament. It was a bit of a shaky start against the new ball for India, as they lost two wickets inside the Powerplay, in Robin Uthappa and Suresh Raina that too in a span of just two deliveries. However, Ambati Rayudu made sure to stick around for long and contribute with a valuable half-century here. He found an able partner in Gurkeerat Singh Mann who helped India to get back on track in this run chase. Yusuf Pathan came in and gave India Champions a much-needed cameo which ensured the required rate never crept up. Later on, Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan stitched a match-winning stand as they were able to complete the job with 5 deliveries left.
Irfan Pathan finishes things off in style here and India Champions are the champions in the World Championship of Legends. The all-rounder turns back the clock, and does the jog for his side. India Champions were quite inconsistent during the group stage fixtures, but the players came to life in the last 80 overs of this contest and they have successfully achieved their target.
In over# 20
4
Sohail Tanvir 28/0(3.1)
19.1
4
FOUR! INDIA CHAMPIONS ARE THE ULTIMATE CHAMPIONS! Irfan Pathan finishes things off in some serious style! Sohail Tanvir goes full and attacks the stumps, Irfan Pathan just clears his front leg out of the way and clubs it straight over the bowler's head for a boundary. India Champions win the final by 5 wickets!
Sohail Tanvir is given the ball and has just 2 runs to defend. Can he do it?
In over# 19
1lb
1wd
1wd
0
1
1
0W
6
Wahab Riaz 22/1(3)
18.6
1lb
Attacks the pads and bowls a low full toss with pace off, Irfan Pathan looks to sweep but misses. The ball clips his front pad and rolls over to the leg side for a single. A leg bye!
18.6
1wd
WIDE! No, Wahab Riaz what have you done? This time bowls it full and down leg for another wide. India Champions just 3 runs away now.