RSWS: India Legends beat SL Legends to clinch the title
India Legends beat Sri Lanka Legends in the grand finale to win the Road Safety World Series 2021 on Sunday. Blistering knocks by Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan laid the foundation of India's 14-run victory. The latter also scalped two wickets and was named the Player of the Match for his all-round exploits. Here is more on the same.
India Legends put up a substantial total
The likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag made a solid start after Sri Lanka Legends opted to field. However, Team India lost two quick wickets in the powerplay. India Legends were reduced to 78/3 in the 11th over. Thereafter, Yuvraj (60) and Yusuf (62*) propelled the Indian innings, sharing an 85-run stand. The duo slammed respective fifties as India Legends put up 181/4.
SL Legends kept on losing successive wickets
Chasing 182, Sri Lanka Legends were off to a flier. Openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya added 62 runs before the former departed. Despite being expensive, the Indian bowlers didn't let the middle-order batsmen settle down. Although Chinthaka Jayasinghe (40) and Kaushalya Weeraratne (38) made a brief recovery for Sri Lanka, they eventually fell short by 14 runs in the run-chase.
Yuvraj and Yusuf smashed the Lankan bowlers
The likes of Yuvraj and Yusuf once again headlined Indian innings. Yuvraj fired his second fifty of the tournament, smashing 60 off 41 balls. His explosive knock was studded with 4 fours and as many sixes. Meanwhile, Yusuf smashed 62* off 36 deliveries, a knock laced with 4 fours and 5 sixes. The duo helped India Legends post a challenging total.
Dilshan named Player of the Series
As stated, Yusuf was named the Player of the Match for his all-round show. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Legends captain Dilshan was named the Player of the Series. He ended up topping both the batting and bowling charts. Dilshan slammed 271 runs from eight matches at an average of 45.17. He also snapped up 12 wickets, including a four-wicket haul.
Sachin Tendulkar finished as India Legend's highest-run scorer
For India Legends, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar finished as the highest run-scorer. He scored 233 runs from seven matches at an average of 38.83. His opening partner Virender Sehwag followed him with 214 runs. Notably, his strike-rate read 153.96. Meanwhile, Yusuf and Munaf Patel were the joint-highest wicket-takers for India Legends. They picked up nine wickets each through the course of the tournament.