Manipal Tigers celebrate the trophy after defeating Urbanrisers Hyderabad in the final. Image credit: Legends Cricket League
Manipal Tigers were crowned champions of the second edition of Legends League Cricket (LLC) after defeating Urbanrisers Hyderabad by five wickets in the final in Surat on Saturday.
Asela Gunaratne led the way for the Tigers with an unbeaten 51 off 29 deliveries which included five maximums. Gunaratne built vital partnerships with fellow Sri Lankans Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera along the way as the Tigers recovered after losing three wickets in quick succession.
New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme then hit the winning six off his first delivery as the Harbhajan Singh-led Tigers chased down the 188-run target set by the Urbanrisers with just over full time.
Robin Uthappa, the Wicketkeeper batsman, had earlier set the tone for his team with a 27-ball 40, adding 71 for the first wicket with West Indian Chadwick Walton before stuttering.
Stuart Binny, who holds the record for the best ODI bowling figures by an Indian (6/4), was responsible for bringing Urbanrisers back into the game with an impressive spell of 4-0-20-3 which included wickets for the team. Two openers.
Earlier in the evening, Ricky Clarke (80 off 52) and Gurkeerat Singh Mann (64 off 36) hit explosive half-centuries and stitched a century stand as Hyderabad recovered from a poor start after being invited to bat by captain Manipal Harbhajan.
Mitchell McLingan and Pankaj Singh batted early in the innings, dismissing Dwayne Smith and Martin Guptill respectively to reduce the Urbanrisers to 36/2 before Clarke and Mann came to their rescue.
Former England international Clarke remained unbeaten with 80 off 52 deliveries, while the Urbanrisers were also boosted by a cameo from Peter Trejo, who scored four sixes in his six-ball 17.
Smith (234) and Mann (233) finished top of the runs charts, ahead of the West Indies by just one run while the Tigers’ spinner, Imran Khan, was the leading wicket-taker with nine scalps at a slightly better average. Isuru Udana of India Capitals, who finished with the most wickets.
It was a fairytale ending for the Manipal Tigers, who finished last in the four-team table in the inaugural edition last year.
🏆 Introducing heroes #LLCT20 S2 🏆
Congratulations @manipal_tigers! 🎉🥳#LegendsLeagueCricket #BossLogonKaGame pic.twitter.com/4yL16CJ5ns
– Legends Cricket League (@llct20) December 9, 2023
The Tigers finished tied on points with the Gujarat Giants, with both teams collecting five points with two wins. However, the Giants advanced to the playoffs alongside India Capitals and Bilwara Kings.
Gautam Gambhir’s India Capitals would go on to thrash Irfan Pathan’s Bhilwara Kings by 104 runs in the final in Jaipur to be crowned champions.