Sri Lankan Legends take on Indian Legends in final
Jayasuriya in action
Sri Lankan cricket fans will relive the glorious past when Sri Lanka Legends led by TM Dilshan takes on Sachin Tendulkar led Indian legends in the final of the Road Safety World Series T20 at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Sri Lankan Legends booked their ticket to the final after getting the better of Jonty Rhodes’s South Africa Legends by eight wickets on Friday night after Nuwan Kulasekera recorded impressive figures of 5 for 25 to restrict the South African legends for below-par score of 125 all out.
Sri Lankans who were always the favourites on paper lived up to their potential and form, and romped home to a comfortable win, chasing down a 126-run target with 16 balls to spare with Chinthaka Jayasinghe smashing an unbeaten 47 off 25 balls(8×4, 1×6) and Upul Tharanga hitting 39 not out (44b, 5×4). In-form Dilshan scored 18 and Sanath Jayasuriya, too, scored 18.
“It’s going to be a tough game, but we are ready to lift the title,” said the 51-year-old Jayasuriya who was impressive with the ball, giving just 12 runs off the four overs and picking South African Legends top scorer Morne van Wyk (53).
“Indians are a very good side but we are an equally good side, said Jayasuriya, who redefined limited-over batting in the 90s. “If we can minimize the mistakes and play smart cricket, I think we are in a really good position to lift the title.”
Sri Lanka Legends have been in excellent form during the tournament. Dilshan is not only the leading scorer with 250 runs but also the leading wicket-taker with 12 wickets. Upul Tharanga, who recently retired from international cricket after national selectors cold-shouldered him repeatedly during the last two years, is the third-highest scorer, hitting 224 runs off six innings.
Indian Legends, too, are in fine form as they cruised to the final, beating West Indies Legends in a high scoring thriller on Wednesday. Both Sachin and Virendra Sehwag have been at the top of the innings while Yuvraj Singh has been explosive in the middle hitting sixes. Their performances will be key for the Indian Legends success in the final against the well-balanced Sri Lankan side.