India once again showed their strength by beating Pakistan by five wickets in the final of the World Championship 2024 in Birmingham(India vs Pakistan legends).
India, led by Yuvraj Singh, as captain, managed to score 157 runs from 19.1 overs. Ambati Rayudu was one of the key players in the match to score 50 runs and followed by Yusuf Pathan, Gurkeerat Singh Mann and the captain himself.
Pakistan, who chose to bat first and put a scored 156 runs for India to reach the target. India’s bowlers, led by Anureet Singh could stopped Pakistan’s player to earn many runs and this led India’s goal proved manageable, although they faced difficulties initially.
Openers Robin Uthappa and Ambati Rayudu got India off to a good start with a 34-run partnership. However, Aamer Yamin turned the tide for Pakistan by replacing Uthappa and Suresh Raina in the same over and India were 38/2
Rayudu then teamed up with Gurkeerat Singh Mann, who quickly scored 50 off 30 balls. He scored two sixes and five boundaries. However, Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal gave a crucial performance by dismissing Rayudu in the 12th over.
Shoaib Malik then dismissed Gurkeerat for 34 off 33 to slow down India’s lead in the next over.
India’s score reached 108/4 when Yusuf Pathan and Yuvraj Singh joined hands. Pathan played 30 off 16 balls, hitting three long sixes, while Yuvraj held his ground with 15 off 22 balls. Their partnership of 42 runs in just 5.4 overs was crucial.
With Yusuf’s knack for big overs, captain Yuvraj batted with uncharacteristic pace. But their stand for the fifth wicket turned out to be the solution in the end.
In the 19th over, Wahab Riaz dismissed Yusuf Pathan and India needed only seven runs from 10 balls. Yuvraj and Irfan Pathan then ensured that India reached the target, with Irfan scoring a boundary won by Sohail Tanvir in the first ball of the final over.
Earlier, Pakistan’s first innings was led by Shoaib Malik, who top scored with 41 runs off 36 balls, including three sixes. Contributors also came from Sohail Tanvir, who scored 19 unbeaten runs from nine balls.
For India, besides Anureet Singh’s outstanding performance of 3 off 43, Irfan Pathan (1 off 12), Pawan Negi (1 off 24), and Vinay Kumar (1 out of 36) provided much-needed support by taking crucial wickets.
While Malik and Tanvir’s efforts pushed Pakistan past 150, it wasn’t enough to defend against a disciplined Indian side. Despite some challenges, the Indian team showed resilience and brilliant play to win the title
Hello….I’m Tobar Nianglang, holding an MBA in Marketing with a focus on Digital Marketing. I’m also the founder and author behind sportskai.com, a prominent sports news platform.