Manipal Tigers were crowned champions of the second edition of the Legends League Cricket (LLC) after defeating Urbanrisers Hyderabad by five wickets in the final in Surat on Saturday.
Asela Gunaratne led the way for the Tigers with an unbeaten 51 off 29 deliveries that contained five maximums. Gunaratne built vital partnerships with fellow Sri Lankans Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera along the way as the Tigers recovered after losing three wickes in quick succession.
Former New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme then struck the winning six off his first delivery as the Harbhajan Singh-led Tigers chased the 188-run target set by the Urbanrisers with an entire over to spare.
Wicketkeeper-batter Robin Uthappa had earlier set the tone for his team with a 27-ball 40, adding 71 for the first wicket with West Indian Chadwick Walton before the stutter.
Stuart Binny, who holds the record for the best ODI bowling figures by an Indian (6/4), was responsible for bringing the Urbanrisers back in the game with a superb spell of 4-0-20-3 which included the wickets of the two openers.
Earlier in the evening, Rikki Clarke (80 off 52) and Gurkeerat Singh Mann (64 off 36) struck explosive half-centuries and stitched a century stand as Hyderabad recovered from a poor start after being invited to bat by Manipal captain Harbhajan.
Mitchell McClenaghan and Pankaj Singh struck early in the innings, dismissing Dwayne Smith and Martin Guptill respectively to reduce the Urbanrisers to 36/2 before Clarke and Mann came to their rescue.
Former England international Clarke remained unbeaten on 80 off 52 deliveries, while the Urbanrisers were also boosted by a cameo from Peter Trego, who struck a four and two sixes in his six-ball 17.
Smith (234) and Mann (233) finished at the top of the run-charts, the West Indian ahead by just a solitary run while Tigers leg-spinner Imran Khan was the leading wicket-taker with nine scalps at a slightly better average that India Capitals’ Isuru Udana, who finished with as many wickets.
It turned out to be a fairytale conclusion for the Manipal Tigers, who had finished at the bottom of the four-team table in the inaugural edition last year.
🏆 PRESENTING THE CHAMPIONS OF #LLCT20 S2 🏆
CONGRATULATIONS @manipal_tigers! 🎉🥳#LegendsLeagueCricket #BossLogonKaGame pic.twitter.com/4yL16CJ5ns
— Legends League Cricket (@llct20) December 9, 2023
The Tigers had finished level on points with Gujarat Giants, both teams collecting five points with two wins. The Giants, however, progressed to the playoffs along with India Capitals and Bhilwara Kings.
The Gautam Gambhir-led India Capitals would go on to thrash Irfan Pathan’s Bhilwara Kings by 104 runs in the final in Jaipur to be crowned champions.
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