“Ecstatic, over the moon” - Sachin Tendulkar reacts after India Legends clinch Road Safety World Series
India Legends captain Sachin Tendulkar was “over the moon” after his side defeated Sri Lanka Legends in the Road Safety World Series final on Sunday.
India Legends came up with a clinical all-round show to get the better of Sri Lanka by 14 runs in the tournament’s summit clash in Raipur.
Taking to his social media accounts after India Legends’ triumph, Sachin Tendulkar shared glimpses of the team’s celebrations. Along with the pictures, he wrote:
“WOW ECSTATIC… Over the Moon! Well played #TeamIndia! #RoadSafetyWorldSeries.”
Sri Lanka Legends won the toss and invited India Legends to bat in the final. Virender Sehwag (10) and S Badrinath (7) departed early. Skipper Sachin Tendulkar was looking good for a big score. However, he was sent back by Farveez Maharoof for 30 from 23.
At 78 for 3, India Legends looked like they were in some trouble. However, a rollicking fourth-wicket partnership of 85 between Yuvraj Singh (60 from 41) and Yusuf Pathan (62 not out from 36) lifted India Legends to 181 for 4 in their 20 overs.
While Yuvraj smashed four fours and as many sixes, Yusuf hammered five sixes to go with his four fours.
Yusuf Pathan shines with the ball for India Legends
Sri Lanka Legends got off to a whirlwind start in the chase of 182. Skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya added 62 for the opening wicket in 7.2 overs.
Dilshan, however, fell for 21 from 18, caught behind off Yusuf. The same bowler trapped Jayasuriya lbw for 43 from 35.
Irfan Pathan then accounted for Chamara Silva (2) and Upul Tharanga (13) as Sri Lanka Legends’ chase fell apart.
Chinthaka Jayasinghe (40 from 30) and Kaushalya Weeraratne (38 from 15) threw their bats around. But Sri Lanka ended their innings on 167 for 7.
Yusuf finished with impressive figures of 2 for 26 while his brother Irfan ended with 2 for 29. Manpreet Gony and Munaf Patel also chipped in with one scalp each.
While Yusuf was named man of the final for his all-round brilliance, Sri Lanka Legends skipper Dilshan was adjudged man of the series.
He was the top-run scorer in the Road Safety World Series, with 271 runs from eight matches at a strike rate of 136.87. Dilshan was also the leading wicket-taker in the event. He picked up 12 scalps at an average of 13.58.