Legends League Cricket 2022: World Giants beat Asia Lions by 25 runs to lift first title;

At Al Amerat Cricket Ground, the last match of the Legends League Cricket 2022 saw battle between Asian Lions and World Giants, wherein the latter walked away with the title by winning the clash by 25 runs.The Lions won the toss and chose Darren Sammy and his team to bat first. The Lions’ idea to have opponents arrive with willows initially backfired in a way, as several hard-hitting knocks surfaced.

Kevin Pietersen, who wrecked havoc in the previous game as well, got his team off to a flying start with a 22-ball 48. Corey Anderson, on the other hand, was the guy in the spotlight today, as his ferocious 94 off 43 deliveries propelled his team above the enormous 250-run milestone. Anderson remained at the crease till the end, with Brad Haddin and Darren Sammy chipping in with 37 and 38 runs, respectively.

The Giants’ hitters took all of the Lions’ bowlers to task, with Nuwan Kulasekara taking three wickets. The aim for the batters to unroll their game was already big, and it eventually got the better of the Lions’ batters. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya got off to a good start with 25 and 38 runs respectively, but it wasn’t enough in the face of a massive target.

WORLD GIANTS INNINGS (20 OVERS MAXIMUM)

BATTING		R	B	4s	6s	SR
Kevin Pietersen	c Misbah-ul-Haq b Vaas	48	22	2	5	218.18
Phil Mustard †	b Kulasekara	7	9	1	0	77.77
Kevin O’Brien	c †Tharanga b Kulasekara	2	6	0	0	33.33
Corey Anderson	not out	94	43	7	8	218.60
Brad Haddin	c Dilshan b Muralitharan	37	16	2	4	231.25
Daren Sammy (c)	c †Tharanga b Kulasekara	38	17	2	4	223.52
Albie Morkel	not out	17	8	1	1	212.50
Extras	(b 4, lb 1, nb 1, w 7)	13
TOTAL	(20 Ov, RR: 12.80)	256/5
Did not bat: Brett Lee, Morne Morkel, Monty Panesar, Ryan Sidebottom
Fall of wickets: 1-51 (Phil Mustard, 3.6 ov), 2-63 (Kevin O’Brien, 5.5 ov), 3-65 (Kevin Pietersen, 6.4 ov), 4-119 (Brad Haddin, 11.2 ov), 5-199 (Daren Sammy, 16.5 ov)

BOWLING	O	R	W	ECON	WD	NB
Shoaib Akhtar	2.1	33	0	15.23	3	1
Chaminda Vaas	4	47	1	11.75	1	0
Nuwan Kulasekara	4	45	3	11.25	2	0
Mohammad Rafique	2.5	33	0	11.64	0	0
Muthiah Muralidaran	4	40	1	10.00	0	0
Tillakaratne Dilshan	3	53	0	17.66	1	0

ASIA LIONS INNINGS (TARGET: 257 RUNS FROM 20 OVERS)

BATTING		R	B	4s	6s	SR
Tillakaratne Dilshan	c Sammy b M Morkel	25	16	3	1	156.25
Sanath Jayasuriya	c Pietersen b JA Morkel	38	23	5	1	165.21
Upul Tharanga †	b Panesar	25	16	1	2	156.25
Asghar Afghan	c Sammy b JA Morkel	24	10	2	2	240.00
Misbah-ul-Haq (c)	c †Mustard b JA Morkel	2	3	0	0	66.66
Mohammad Yousuf	not out	39	21	1	4	185.71
Mohammad Rafique	c Sidebottom b Panesar	22	18	1	1	122.22
Nuwan Kulasekara	lbw b Sidebottom	17	6	1	2	283.33
Chaminda Vaas	b Pietersen	15	5	0	2	300.00
Muthiah Muralidaran	not out	6	2	0	1	300.00
Extras	(lb 1, w 17)	18
TOTAL	(20 Ov, RR: 11.55)	231/8
Did not bat: Shoaib Akhtar
Fall of wickets: 1-57 (Tillakaratne Dilshan, 5.3 ov), 2-77 (Sanath Jayasuriya, 7.3 ov), 3-118 (Upul Tharanga, 10.3 ov), 4-121 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 11.1 ov), 5-122 (Asghar Afghan, 11.4 ov), 6-171 (Mohammad Rafique, 16.6 ov), 7-210 (Nuwan Kulasekara, 18.4 ov), 8-225 (Chaminda Vaas, 19.4 ov)

BOWLING	O	R	W	ECON	WD
Brett Lee	2	26	0	13.00	3
Ryan Sidebottom	3	34	1	11.33	1
Morne Morkel	2	19	1	9.50	0
Albie Morkel	4	35	3	8.75	2
Kevin O’Brien	1	17	0	17.00	1
Monty Panesar	4	40	2	10.00	0
Kevin Pietersen	4	59	1	14.75	1

Legends League Cricket 2022: World Giants beat Asia Lions by 25 runs to lift first title;