Legend 90 League: Gurkeerat Mann Powers Chhattisgarh Warriors to Thrilling Win Over Delhi Royals
The Legend 90 League kicked off with an exhilarating contest as the home side, Chhattisgarh Warriors, secured a thrilling five-wicket victory over Delhi Royals in the final over at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium.
Raipur: The Legend 90 League kicked off with an exhilarating contest as the home side, Chhattisgarh Warriors, secured a thrilling five-wicket victory over Delhi Royals in the final over at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium.
Table of Contents
Delhi Royals Set Challenging Target
Delhi Royals posted a competitive total of 172/7 in their allotted 15 overs. Chhattisgarh Warriors, led by Gurkeerat Singh Mann in the absence of Suresh Raina, chose to bowl first. Delhi’s innings had a rocky start, with Abhimanyu Mithun dismissing Sharad Lumba on the very first ball of the match.
Delhi captain Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed early by Siddharth Kaul, but the Sri Lankan duo of Danushka Gunathilaka and Angelo Perera revived the innings with a blistering 61-run partnership off just 28 balls. Although Perera was run out due to a mix-up, Gunathilaka continued his assault, smashing 73 runs off just 33 balls, including nine fours and four sixes.
Veteran Ross Taylor contributed crucial runs at the end, remaining unbeaten on 39 off 24 balls, guiding Delhi Royals to a formidable total of 172/7 in 90 balls.
Chhattisgarh Warriors Chase Down Target
Chasing 173, Chhattisgarh Warriors faced an early setback when Lakhwinder Singh dismissed Vishal Kushwah in the third over, with Shikhar Dhawan taking the catch and celebrating with his signature “Thigh Five.” Parvinder Awana then removed the dangerous Martin Guptill, leaving the Warriors at 40/2.
However, a brilliant third-wicket partnership between skipper Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Pawan Negi turned the tide. The duo added 106 runs, taking the chase deep. Both batters reached their half-centuries, but the match took a dramatic turn in the 13th over when Lakhwinder Singh dismissed Negi (51) with a sensational catch by Praveen Gupta.
Dramatic Final Over
The tension increased when Jerome Taylor struck twice in the next over, removing Gurkeerat (64) and Peter Trego, leaving 20 runs to be scored off the final eight balls. With 15 runs required off the last over, Abhimanyu Mithun turned the game in the Warriors’ favour, hitting two sixes and a four off Praveen Gupta. He sealed the victory for Chhattisgarh Warriors with two balls to spare.
