Legends League Cricket: Shane Watson Helps Bhilwara Kings Storm Into Final, To Play Summit Clash Against India Capitals

03.10.2022 - 21:33 sports.ndtv.com

Bhilwara Kings batted in a royal fashion to tame the Gujarat Giants and book a place in the final of the ongoing Legends League Cricket (LLC) against India Capitals.

In the Eliminator contest at the Barkatullah Khan Stadium on Monday, the Kings' batters out-muscled the Giants by chasing down a 195-run target in 18.3 overs to register a six-wicket win.

The Kings latched on to the chase from the very beginning of their innings as their openers - William Porterfield and Morne van Wyk - put on a terrific opening stand of 91 in nine overs.

While Porterfield scored 60 off 43 balls, Van Wyk got 31 off 18 balls. Once the openers were back to the hut, Shane Watson and brothers Yusuf and Irfan Pathan did their bit to help the Kings race to their target.

cricket Chris Gayle Shane Watson Irfan Pathan Yusuf Pathan Australia India

Shane Watson, while tagging Hardik Pandya as a 'match winner' has said that India's star all-rounder, thanks to his rich vein of form, can take India to their second T20 World Cup title win. India won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, under MS Dhoni's captaincy. The 8th edition of the ICC T20 World Cup is currently being played in Australia and the Indian team, led by Rohit Sharma, will kick off their campaign on October 23 against arch-rivals Pakistan in the Super 12 stage. In the 7 completed editions of the tournament so far there have been as many as 6 different champions, with only the West Indies managing to clinch two titles - in 2012 and 2016. India have gone into the tournament without the services of two star players - pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. In Bumrah's absence, the experienced Mohammed Shami will spearhead the Indian bowling attack. Apart from Shami, young Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Pandya are the weapons India will have in their pace armoury.

T20 World Cup: There is no like-for-like replacement possible for Jasprit Bumrah, he is just too skillful, says Shane Watson

Injuries and sport go hand in hand. The trouble though is that though Jadeja's absence can be masked (especially if someone like Axar Patel, who is a like-for-like replacement for Jadeja performs well), there is no one who can be a like-for-like replacement for Bumrah. This was a sentiment that was echoed by former Australian cricketer Shane Watson as well. "If you ask me a possible like-for-like replacement for Bumrah, there is none. There's no one really in the world. He is just that incredibly skillful. Whether it's with a brand-new ball, whether it's in the death overs, he's got amazing skill. And that's the reason he's done such an incredible job for India as well. So, there's no like for like replacement (possible)," Watson told TimesofIndia.com in an interview.

Legends League Cricket: India Capitals emerge champions after Ross Taylor, Mitchell Johnson fireworks

Former New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor sizzled with a fiery 41-ball 82. He slammed eights sixes and four boundaries and along with Aussie veteran Mitchell Johnson (62 off 35), led the Capitals' stunning revival to post a daunting 211/7 after being sent in at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Wednesday. The Gautam Gambhir-led side was rattled to be 21/4 inside the first five overs with Rahul Sharma (4/30) and Monty Panesar (3-0-13-2) inflicting early blows. But Taylor held the fort in the duos' 126-run stand that came off just 60 balls.

Legends League Cricket: India Capitals Champions After Ross Taylor, Mitchell Johnson Fireworks

India Capitals were crowned the champions of the Legends League Cricket (LLC), which was being held in India for the first time. In an entertaining final, played at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here on Wednesday, the Capitals beat Bhilwara Kings by 104 runs to lift the trophy. The Capitals, captained by Gautam Gambhir, made an excellent recovery after stumbling early to post 211/7 in 20 overs. The Kings crumbled under pressure of the tall target and were all out for just 107 in 18.2 overs.

India Capitals vs Bhilwara Kings, Legends League Cricket 2022 Final Live Score: Ross Taylor, Mitchell Johnson Steady Capitals After Top-Order Collapse

India Capitals vs Bhilwara Kings, Legends League Cricket Final Live Updates: Ross Taylor is on the charge for the India Capitals, following a top-order collapse. India Capitals Gautam Gambhir failed to gave his team a strong start as he was dismissed in the first over by Monty Panesar. Rahul Sharma then struck twice in the second over to put the Capitals three down early. Panesar then bagged his second, dismissing the explosive Dwayne Smith. Earlier, Bhilwara Kings won the toss and opted to bowl against India Capitals in the final of the Legends League Cricket 2022 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Capitals had earlied defeated the Kings in the Qualifier, and will look to do the same in the summit clash. Kings, on the other hand, defeated Gujarat Giants in the Eliminator to set up a rematch with the Capitals. Both teams finished the group stage on seven points, with Capitals topping the table due to a superior net run-rate.