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In a thrilling contest in Surat on Saturday (December 9), the Manipal Tigers achieved victory in the second edition of the Legends League Cricket (LLC) by defeating Urbanrisers Hyderabad by five wickets with six balls to spare.
Early challenges and Urbanrisers Hyderabad’s tenacity
Captain Harbhajan Singh displayed strategic prowess by choosing to bowl first after winning the toss. The early setbacks, with Mitchell McClenaghan and Pankaj Singh removing Dwayne Smith and Martin Guptill, had Urbanrisers struggling at 36/2. However, Rikki Clarke (80*) and Gurkeerat Singh Mann (64) orchestrated a remarkable recovery, forming a century partnership. A quick contribution from Peter Trego down the order propelled Urbanrisers to a competitive totaဣl of 187/5 in 20 overs.
Asela Gunaratne’s heroics lead Manipal Tigers’ response
In the chase, Asela Gunaratne‘s unbeaten 51 off 29 deliveries, featuring five sixes, played a pivotal role for the Tigers. Gunaratne, along with Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera, forged crucial partnerships, guiding the Tigers to recovery after the l𒀰oss of thre♎e quick wickets.
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Colin de Grandhomme’s decisive six seals the deal for the Tigers
Former New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme emerged as the hero for the Tigers in the end, finishing the victory with a match-winning six off his first delivery. Harbhajan’s team successfully chased down the 188-run target set by Urbanrisers, securing their maiden LLC championship with an entire over to spare.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
Congrat♔ulations for lead💙ing Manipal Tigers to the title win! Hard luck
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73)
MANIPAL TIGERS WON LLC 2023….!!!!
Harbhajan Singh led Manipal chase down 188 runs in the final, What a fantastic match, incredible atmosphere in Surat – hard luck to Suresh Raina & his team.
— ANOOP SAMRAJ (@CricSamraj)
Manipal Tigers ch♐ampions of ꦗthe legend cricket league.
— Mohd Mainulhuda Khan (@MoinulHuda7)
Manipal Tigers fini💎shes in style and becomes LLCT20 2023 cha🦂mpion 🏆
Not sure shreeshant can celebrate Harbhajan Singh win or not 🥵 🎉
— Sujeet Suman (@sujeetsuman1991)
Legends League Cricket – Manipal Group Sponsored Manipal Tigers we won
— Rohith Prabhakar (@Rohith_1988)
MANIPAL TIGERS WON LLC 2023….!!!!
Harbhajan Singh led Manipal chase down 188 runs in the final, What a fantastic match, incredible atmosphere in Surat – hard luck to Suresh Raina & his team.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns)
Manipal Tigers champions of .
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra)
🏆 PRESENTING THE CHAMPIONS OF S2 🏆
CONGRATULATIONS ! 🎉🥳
— Legends League Cricket (@llct20)
Victory roars for the Manipal Tigers as t🎃hey clinch the ༺Legends League Season 2 title! 🏆🎉 A spectacular journey of teamwork, resilience, and triumph.
— Manipal Tigers (@manipal_tigers)
Congratulations to the for emerging victorious in the Final—a roaring achievement! 🏆 is𒈔 thrilled to celebrate🌠 this victory together, and is proud to have been introduced to over 700 million cricket fans worldwide during this event!
— FLOKI (@RealFlokiInu)
The Manipal Tigers won the Legends League Cricket Final🏆as they beat Urbanrisers Hyderabad by 5 wickets.
URH 187/5
MT 193/8
Asela Gunaratne 51*— Sri Lanka Tweet 🇱🇰 (@SriLankaTweet)
