Gayle storm in Jodhpur | Bhilwara Kings beat Gujarat & book place in Legends League Cricket playoffs
Irfan and Yusuf Pathan together overshadowed a blistening innings from Chris Gayle on Friday (September 30) to help Bhilwara Kongs beat Gujarat Giants in the 11th match of the Legends League Cricket (LLC) at the Barkatullah Khan Stadium in Jodhpur on Friday and confirm their place in the playoffs as well. After Gayle's hurricane 68 off 40 balls had helped the Gujarat Giants post 186/7 in 20 overs, Yusuf and Irfan played aggressive knocks to help the Bhilwara Kings chase down the target and win the game by five wickets. The Kings had a moderately good start as their openers put on 57 runs. But after Morne van Wyk's dismissal, their scoring rate dipped.
After Simmons' dismissal for 22 in the fifth over, the Giants had the worst possible finish to their Powerplay as they lost two wickets - captain Parthiv Patel and Kevin O'Brien - in the very next over. Yusuf was the man who inflicted the damage on the Giants.
Yusuf, however, got a reality check soon after. While one expected the Giants to be on the backfoot following those wickets, Gayle, a stalwart of the shortest format of the game, was in no mood to spend a quiet night in Jodhpur. In the eighth over of the innings, he hit Yusuf for three fours and two sixes, his fifty coming up in 23 balls.
Yashpal Singh (58 off 37 balls) too got a fifty to help the Giants get a formidable total. In the end though, it proved insufficient.
How it stands
After Friday's match, India Capitals and Bhilwara Kings confirmed their places in the playoffs with 7 points each. Only three teams will be moving ahead with the fourth being eliminated straightaway. The battle for the third playoffs place is between the Gujarat Giants and Manipal Tigers. If the Tigers, who are currently on 3 points, lose their last league phase game against India Capitals on Saturday, the Giants with 5 points will finish third and make the playoffs.
But if the Tigers win, they too will be on 5 points, the same as the Giants, and so it will all come down to the net run rate. As on Friday, the Giants had a net run rate -0.366 while the Tigers were poorer with -0.607.
The Kings lost set batter William Porterfield (40 off 37 balls) in the 12th over making things difficult for themselves. But then began the Yusuf storm. With four gigantic sixes and a four, Yusuf made 39 off 18 balls before he was out in the 16th over.
Irfan then took over the baton from his brother. The Kings captain, along with Jesal Karia (39 not out off 24 balls), ensured that they reached home with two balls to spare. Irfan stayed unbeaten on 26 off 14 balls.
After Friday's match, India Capitals and Bhilwara Kings confirmed their places in the playoffs with 7 points each. Only three teams will be moving ahead with the fourth being eliminated straightaway. The battle for the third playoffs place is between the Gujarat Giants and Manipal Tigers. If the Tigers, who are currently on 3 points, lose their last league phase game against India Capitals on Saturday, the Giants with 5 points will finish third and make the playoffs.
But if the Tigers win, they too will be on 5 points, the same as the Giants, and so it will all come down to the net run rate. As on Friday, the Giants had a net run rate -0.366 while the Tigers were poorer with -0.607.
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Legends League Cricket Team :
Gujarat Giants (Playing XI): Virender Sehwag(c), Kevin O Brien, Parthiv Patel(w), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lendl Simmons, Thisara Perera, Rayad Emrit, Graeme Swann, KP Appanna, Mitchell McClenaghan, Ashok Dinda
Bhilwara Kings Squads :
Samit Patel, Tino Best, Sudeep Tyagi, Nick Compton, Owais Shah, William Porterfield, Naman Ojha, Matt Prior, Yusuf Pathan, Tanmay Srivastava, Shane Watson, Irfan Pathan, Mayank Tehlan, Tim Bresnan, Fidel Edwards, Monty Panesar, Sreesanth, Dinesh Salunkhe.
About Legends League Cricket :
Legends League Cricket is a global T20 league where retired cricketing legends come back to play competitive cricket again.
LLCT20 is the destination where you will find your favourite cricketers of the recent past back in action. Catch the excitement, drama, and intensity of cricket played by what some consider to be the golden generation of cricketers.
Experience the thrill of hearing those names on your screen again.
Legends League Cricket is committed to deliver world class cricket action for cricketing fans with an objective to revive the cherished legendary rivalries of Cricket back on the field. The League features legends from various countries like - India, Sri Lanka, English, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa, Bangladesh, Afghanistan.
know more : www.llct20.com/
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