The Asia Lions, captained by Shahid Afridi, roared to victory in the Skyexch.net Legends League Cricket Masters, thanks to a stunning performance by their opening duo, Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan. In a packed Asian Town Cricket Stadium in Doha, the Lions blew away the World Giants with an emphatic seven-wicket win, clinching the championship with 23 balls to spare.
Tharanga and Dilshan dominated the World Giants attack from the outset, racking up an incredible 115-run partnership in just 10 overs. Dilshan hammered 58 off 42 balls with eight boundaries, while Tharanga smashed 57 off just 28 balls, including five boundaries and three sixes. Tharanga’s outstanding performance throughout the tournament earned him the Player of the Series award.
The Lions had earlier restricted the World Giants to 147 for 4, despite a valiant unbeaten knock of 78 from Jacques Kallis, which included five boundaries and three sixes. Kallis shared a crucial 92-run partnership in 11.1 overs with Ross Taylor, who contributed 32 runs off 33 balls with three boundaries.
The World Giants had won the toss and elected to bat, but they got off to a shaky start as left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak opened the bowling for the Lions and gave away just three runs. Sohail Tanvir, the Lions’ left-arm pacer, was also in fine form, generating good pace off the wicket. Lendl Simmons managed to edge through the gap in the slip region for the first boundary of the match, but Morne van Wyk was dismissed for a duck by Razzak’s arm ball in the third over. Razzak then claimed the vital wicket of skipper Shane Watson, who was trapped leg-before for a duck.
Tanvir tightened the screws in the fourth over, conceding just two runs, while Simmons smashed a straight six off Razzak’s bowling. However, Simmons was run out by Tanvir with a direct hit to the bowler’s end while attempting a quick single. Kallis eventually picked up his first boundary off Tanvir past extra cover, and the Giants reached 31 for 3 at the end of the powerplay.
Kallis and Taylor then focused on building a partnership, scoring singles off Mohammad Hafeez’s seventh over. Afridi, who came on to bowl in the eighth over, gave away just five runs. Razzak bowled his final over brilliantly, frustrating Kallis with his variations and conceding just two runs. When Afridi followed suit with a tight 10th over, the Giants had only mustered 49 runs for 3 at the halfway mark.
Kallis finally hit a six off Afridi in the 12th over, but runs were still hard to come by. Taylor and Kallis reached their 50-run partnership in 7.3 overs, with Kallis smashing Perera for a six to mid-wicket to reach his half-century in the 15th over. Perera bowled Taylor for 32 with the third ball of the 17th over, but Kallis continued to punish the Lions, hitting two consecutive boundaries off the last over to finish unbeaten on 78.
In response, the Lions got off to a blazing start, with Tharanga and Dilshan stroking the ball with ease. Dilshan hit Samit Patel’s second and third deliveries for boundaries, while Tharanga smashed the fifth ball for a six over long-on. The duo put on 16 runs in the first over alone, and Tharanga pulled Brett Lee for a boundary in the second over. Powell replaced the expensive Patel, but Tharanga chopped him to the third man for another boundary.
Tino Best, who was introduced for the fourth over, was also hit by Dilshan through the covers for a boundary. The pair recorded their 50 runs partnership in 4.5 overs with Tharanga hitting Powell for a six.
Tharanga smashed Powell’s last ball of the fifth over too for a six to long-on. Dilshan greeted Chris Mpofu with two consecutive boundaries in the sixth over and also scored another off the fourth ball to pile up 72 runs from the powerplay.
Hoping to stop the run flow, World Giants introduced Monty Panesar. He too was not spared by Dilsan who drove him through extra cover for another boundary and took 13 runs off the over. Desperately looking for a breakthrough, Brett Lee was introduced for the eighth over. There was no impact of the bowling change. In fact, Lee was elegantly pulled for a boundary by Tharanga. In the ninth over, Tharanga reached his half-century, pulling Best for a boundary. He had already hit four boundaries and three sixes. The 100-run partnership too came in 8.3 overs.
Asia Lions took the game totally away from World Giants with Dilshan too smashing Best for a boundary to mid-wicket and reaching his half-century in 32 balls with eight boundaries. The 115 runs partnership ended when Lee had Tharanga clean bowled for 57.
Asia Lions needed only 33 runs in the last 10 overs. Dilshan was bowled out by Samit Patel for 58 when only 16 runs were needed for the victory in 41 balls. Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah Ul Haq steered their team to victory remaining unbeaten with nine runs each.
