Arch-rivals India and Pakistan will meet in the final of the Legends World Championship after both teams won the semi-final in Northampton on Friday.
Pakistan defeated the West Indies by 20 runs in the first semi-final while India defeated Australia by 86 runs in the second best-of-four match.
The final is scheduled to begin in Birmingham on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. Tehran time.
Indian Batman catches fire
India’s middle-order batsmen struck first, with opener Robin Uthappa hitting 65 off 35 balls (four sixes, six fours) to hit the middle fielder.
Although Ambati Rayudu (14) and Suresh Raina (5) fell cheaply, Uthappa never took his foot off the gas and an equally dominant Yuvraj Singh scored 47 runs for the third wicket.
Pakistan thwarted the Windies’ comeback
Pakistan had captain Younis Khan and opener Kamran Akmal putting on 79 runs for the fourth wicket.
Pakistan struggled 10-3 as Sharjeel Khan (0), Sohaib Maqsood (1) and Shoaib Malik (0) were sent off cheaply. However, Akmal defended the first over and countered with 46 off 31 balls.
Younis did not miss the loose ball, but he saw the return of Shahid Afridi (1), the former captain of the Pakistan national team, and Misbah-ul-Haq (○), who quickly returned to the pavilion.
It was then left to Younis to steady the ship once again and he found acceptable support in Aamir Yameen as Younis followed up with a 45-ball 65 after the duo was broken by Fidel Edwards’ crucial 34. They ate West Indies bowled with figures 3 to 24.
Left-arm spinner Sreeman Ben also bowled well and took two wickets for 26 runs.
However, the Windies bowling suffered some disadvantages as Yamin and Sohail Tanveer used their long handles effectively in a quick 61-run partnership for eight wickets.
While Yamin was not out on 40 off 18 balls, Tanveer scored 33 off 17 balls, leading his team to a whopping 198 runs.
In the chase, West Indies’ Dwayne Smith, Chris Gayle and Chadwick Walton caught the eye but couldn’t budge, finishing 26th, 22nd and 19th respectively.
Sohaib Maqsood (4 for 21) struck twice with the new ball to control the Windies and their run rate but never got into the game.
After that, Ashley Nurse (36 off 24) stayed in the middle for a while, but Jason Mohammed (7) and skipper Darren Sammy (10) were also sent off without much help, so Akumal brought him on.
Rayad Amrit scored 29 off 9 balls but fell short as West Indies’ innings reached 178 in 19.5 overs.
Wahab Riaz (2/35) and Malik (2/26) were the other wicket-takers for Pakistan.
