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Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan took to his official X handle to share some of the memorable moments after India Champions defeated Pakistan Champions in the final of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2024 on Saturday, July 13. It was the inaugural edition of the star-studded tournament which featured legendary cricketers from six countries.
"We are champions," Pathan captioned the post.
Apart from India and Pakistan, the West Indies, Australia, England and South Africa were the other participating nations. While the West Indies Champions lost against Pakistan Champions in the first semifinal by 20 runs, India Champions defeated Australia Champions by a huge margin of 86 runs in the second semifinal.
Meanwhile, South Africa Champions and England Champions failed to qualify for the knockouts having finished fifth and sixth in the points table after playing five matches each. Two venues, Edgbaston in Birmingham and the County Ground in Northampton, hosted all 18 matches of WCL 2024.
India Champions are the inaugural WCL winners
The highly-anticipated final at Edgbaston witnessed the arch-rivals going head-to-head for the inaugural title. Pakistan Champions skipper Younis Khan won the toss and opted to bat first. Powered by top-scorer Shoaib Malik's 41 off 36 balls, Pakistan Champions finished their innings at 156-6 in 20 overs. Right-arm medium bowler Anureet Singh was the pick of the bowlers for Yuvraj Singh's men having scalped three wickets.
Chasing 157 for the victory, India Champions won the encounter by five wickets with five balls to spare. Opener Ambati Rayudu scored 50 off 30 balls and was adjudged Player of the Final for his knock. Gurkeerat Singh Mann (34) and Yusuf Pathan (30) also made valuable contributions during the chase to help the team lift the inaugural WCL title. Yusuf Pathan was named Player of the Tournament for scoring 221 runs in seven matches.
