Yuvraj Singh (60, 41b, 4×4, 4×6) and Yusuf Pathan (62 not out, 36b, 4×4, 5×6) struck quick-fire fifties as India Legends beat Sri Lanka Legends by 14 runs to win the inaugural Road Safety World Series T20 2020-21 in Raipur on Sunday.
Needing 182 to win, the Sri Lankan opening pair, captain Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya, added 62 in 7.2 overs before Yusuf got Dilshan caught behind in his first over.
And when he trapped Jayasuriya in front for 43, Sri Lanka was in a spot of bother. But K Weeraratne and C Jayasinghe struck some lusty blows, adding 64 off 36 to keep Sri Lanka in the contest. However, with 30 needed off 12, Weeraratne was dismissed courtesy a fine diving catch by Vinay Kumar.
Munaf Patel then defended 24 off the last over to carry India over the line.
After India was sent in, Yuvraj and Yusuf gave a brutal exhibition of power-hitting. They were particularly severe on medium-pacers Nuwan Kulasekara and Dhammika Prasad. Prasad’s last over – 16th of the innings – went for 22 as Yusuf hit a hat-trick of boundaries – two sixes and a four.
Yuvraj wasn’t too far behind, getting to his fifty with a lofted drive for four. More out-of-the-park carnage followed in the next over with Yuvraj and Yusuf clattering 20, including three maximums. Yusuf’s powerful drives and pulls were matched by Yuvraj’s beautiful wrists and timing as they added 85 for the fourth wicket off just 47 deliveries.
Earlier, Rangana Herath and Jayasuriya dealt India two early blows but Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj steadied the innings with a solid partnership. Waves of cricket fans wound the clock back to the 1990s and early 2000s when Tendulkar essayed two back-to-back sweep shots off Dilshan before playing a glorious on drive off Jayasuriya.
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