Tag: Pakistan Champions vs India Champions

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan Champions have won the toss and elected to bat first against India Champions in the blockbuster World Championship of Legends Final here at Edgbaston on Saturday.

PLAYING XIs

Pakistan Champions: Younis Khan (c), Kamran Akmal, Sharjeel Khan, Sohaib Maqsood, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Aamer Yamin, Sohail Tanvir, Sohail Khan and Wahab Riaz.

India Champions: Yuvraj Singh (c), Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Pawan Negi, Harbhajan Singh, Vinay Kumar, Anureet Singh, Rahul Shukla.

Pakistan Champions beat West Indies Champions by 20 runs in the first semi-final to make their way to the World Championship of Legends Final before India Champions joined their arch-rivals with an 86-run thrashing of Australia Champions.

The two arch-rivals faced each other earlier in the tournament with Pakistan Champions recording a thumping 68-run victory.

Batting first, Pakistan Champions registered a mammoth total of 243/4, courtesy of quickfire half-centuries by Sharjeel Khan, Kamran Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood.

Akmal and Sharjeel hit the India Champions all around the ground and recorded a belligerent partnership.

The duo had taken Pakistan Champions to 132 for no loss at the halfway mark as 250 looked like an achievable total.

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Pacer Anureet Singh then drew a much-needed success for India Champions when he finally got rid of threatening Sharjeel.

The left-handed opener smashed seven fours and five sixes on his way to a 30-ball 72.

Walking out to bat at No.3, Sohaib Maqsood made sure the Pakistan Champions did not lose momentum and added further to the misery of the India Champions.

He was involved in an important second-wicket partnership with Kamran Akmal, who fell victim to Pawan Negi in the 14th over.

Kamran remained the top-scorer for the Pakistan Champions with 77 off 40 deliveries, laced up with nine fours and four sixes.

Maqsood then joined forces with active senior all-rounder Shoaib Malik and formed yet another crucial partnership for Pakistan Champions.

The duo of Maqsood and Malik added 41 runs for the third wicket before RP Singh dismissed him in the 18th over.

Maqsood scored a brisk 51 off 26 deliveries, peppered with two fours and five sixes.

Chasing a daunting total of 244, India Champions only managed 175/9 in the allotted overs despite Suresh Raina’s half-century.

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BIRMINGHAM: Sharjeel Khan and Kamran Akmal’s quickfire half-centuries, followed by a dominant bowling display led Pakistan Champions to a thumping 68-run victory over India Champions in the eighth match of the World Championship of Legends at Edgbaston here on Saturday.

Chasing a daunting total of 244, India Champions only managed 175/9 in the allotted overs despite Suresh Raina’s half-century.

India Champions had a shaky start to the pursuit as Robin Uthappa perished in the third over after scoring 22 off 12.

Suresh Raina then joined Ambati Rayudu and the duo put India Champions in a comfortable position with belligerent hitting and kept up with the required run-rate.

However, Shoaib Malik cleaned up Rayudu in the eighth over to provide Pakistan Champions a much-needed breakthrough.

Ambati Rayudu smashed three fours and two sixes on his way to a 23-ball 39.

India Champions then lost two more wickets — Yusuf Pathan (0) and Gurkeerat Singh Mann (1) in quick succession and consequently slipped to 90/4 in 9.2 overs.

The back-to-back dismissals halted the flow of runs for the India Champions, causing the required run rate to skyrocket.

Pakistan Champions banked on the mounting pressure on India Champions and struck at regular intervals.

Raina was the last one to walk back when he was cleaned up by Sohail Tanvir in the penultimate over.

He remained the top-scorer for India Champions with 52 off 40 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes.

Shoaib Malik and Wahab Riaz bagged three wickets each for Pakistan Champions while Sohail Tanvir and Sohail Khan made one scalp each.

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India captain Harbhajan Singh’s decision to put Pakistan into bat did not prove beneficial as their bowlers received thrashing by the latter’s openers.

Akmal and Sharjeel hit the India Champions all around the ground and recorded a belligerent partnership with both scoring half-centuries.

The duo had taken Pakistan Champions to 132 for no loss at the halfway mark as 250 looked like an achievable total.

Pacer Anureet Singh then drew a much-needed success for India Champions when he finally got rid of threatening Sharjeel.

The left-handed opener smashed seven fours and five sixes on his way to a 30-ball 72.

Walking out to bat at No.3, Sohaib Maqsood made sure the Pakistan Champions did not lose momentum and added further to the misery of the India Champions.

He was involved in an important second-wicket partnership with Kamran Akmal, who fell victim to Pawan Negi in the 14th over.

Kamran remained the top-scorer for the Pakistan Champions with 77 off 40 deliveries, laced up with nine fours and four sixes.

Maqsood then joined forces with active senior all-rounder Shoaib Malik and formed yet another crucial partnership for Pakistan Champions.

The duo of Maqsood and Malik added 41 runs for the third wicket before RP Singh dismissed him in the 18th over.

Maqsood scored a brisk 51 off 26 deliveries, peppered with two fours and five sixes.

Pakistan Champions then sustained another blow to their batting expedition when hard-hitting all-rounder Shahid Afridi walked back for a golden duck.

Malik then combined with Aamer Yamin (5*) to add valuable runs at the backend. He scored an unbeaten 25 off 18 balls with the help of two fours.

For India Champions, Pawan Negi, RP Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni and Anureet Singh made one scalp each.

The 59-run victory lifted Pakistan Champions to the top of the World Championship of Legends standings with six points in three matches while India Champions remained third with four points in as many matches.

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