Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], February 7 : The Legend 90 League got off to a thrilling start as home side Chhattisgarh Warriors edged past Delhi Royals in a dramatic five-wicket victory in the final over at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur.
On Thursday, Delhi Royals posted 172/7 in the allotted 15 overs but Chhattisgarh Warriors chased down the target with two balls to spare. Gurkeerat Singh Mann led Chhattisgarh Warriors in Suresh Raina's absence and elected to bowl first. Delhi Royals had a disastrous start as Abhimanyu Mithun cleaned up Sharad Lumba on the very first ball of the match.
Delhi skipper Shikhar Dhawan also fell early to Siddharth Kaul, but the Sri Lankan duo of Danushka Gunathilaka and Angelo Perera turned things around with a blistering 61-run standoff in just 28 balls. A mix-up led to Perera's run-out, but Gunathilaka took charge, smashing a 73-run knock off just 33 balls with nine fours and four sixes.
Veteran New Zealander Ross Taylor added crucial runs at the end, remaining unbeaten on 39 off 24 balls*, helping the Royals post a formidable 172/7 in 90 balls.
Chasing 173, Chhattisgarh Warriors were rocked early when Lakhwinder Singh dismissed Vishal Kushwah in the third over, with Shikhar Dhawan taking the catch and celebrating with his iconic "Thigh Five". Parvinder Awana then got rid of the dangerous Martin Guptill, leaving the home side struggling at 40/2.
However, the Warriors fought back through a brilliant third-wicket partnership between skipper Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Pawan Negi. The duo added 106 runs together, taking the chase deep. Both batsmen 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.
The tension escalated as Jerome Taylor struck twice in the next over, removing Gurkeerat (64) and Peter Trego, leaving 20 runs needed off the final eight balls.
With 15 required off the last over, Abhimanyu Mithun turned the game in Warriors' favor, smashing 6, 4, and another six off Praveen Gupta, sealing the win with two balls to spare. The Warriors' thrilling five-wicket victory gave the home crowd plenty to celebrate.