Match Details
Virender Sehwag (Gujarat Giants Captain): “Yes, I sent all my big hitters at the top of the order to finish the match, but it didn’t work out. Our bowlers did an exceptional job by bowling in good areas. I was getting ready for a super over and thank god Murali bowled a wide and we were over the line.”
Parthiv Patel (Legend of the match): “ I enjoyed batting in the powerplay. The ball was coming nicely. It’s great to be out there. I wanted to contribute to the team. Whatever we are at the moment, it is because of cricket and I’m grateful for that.”
11:13 PM IST | That concludes the 3rd fixture of the Legends Cricket League 2022 between the Gujarat Giants and Manipal Tigers. After 37.3 overs of exhilarating cricket, Gujarat Giants prevail over Manipal Tigers by 2 wickets and will grasp two points to stay at the top of the table.
In what was anticipated as an easy run-chase, Gujarat Giants lost two wickets in the second over as Christopher Mpofu (2/26) first attained the huge wicket of Captain Virender Sehwag 1(2) followed by another wicket of Tillakaratne Dilshan 0 (2), who lost his stumps to Mpofu. However, Parthiv Patel soon resurrected the Giant’s innings as he went into destruction mode. The southpaw scored 34 of just 17, including six boundaries and one maximum, and turned the pendulum in favor of the Giants.
On one end they kept on losing wickets, but the runs also kept coming from the other. Parvinder Awana bowled slowly from the surface and finished with the figures of 2/13. Harbhajan Singh also bowled exceptionally well and grabbed two wickets by giving away just 23 runs. The Tigers bowled their heart out but they were low on runs.
Before that, after winning the flip and electing to bowl first, Gujarat Giants restricted Manipal Tigers to 120/8. The Tigers were off to a sedate start as they only managed to secure 25 runs inside the powerplay by losing three top-order batters. Moreover, they only smashed two boundaries inside the powerplay and both of them were scored in the first over.
The Manipal Tigers were tottering at 23/3, before Mohammad Kaif and Ravikant Shukla stitched a much-needed partnership of 55. Kaif’s unhurried innings of 24(29) were ended by Ashok Dinda, who had the wood over him. Dinda bowled exceptional lines and the surface assisted him to skid the ball a lot quicker; he finished with the figures of 2/22. Similarly, Tillakaratne Dilshan (2/18) also attained two scalps in the death overs. It was Harbhajan Singh’s pyrotechnics of 18(9) at the end that gave the bowlers something to uphold.
Ultimately, Gujarat Giants came out victorious by two wickets. Gujarat Giants and Manipal Tigers will again lock horns with each other on the 22nd of September. Stay tuned for the post-match presentation!