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An all-round performance helped Manipal Tigers to beat Urbanrisers Hyderabad by 5 wickets with six balls remaining in the final of the 2023 Legends League at the Lalabhai Contractor Stadium in Surat on Saturday.
With the win, they also became the champions of the second edition of the Legends League Cricket. Earlier, after losing the first qualifier to Urbanrisers Hyderabad, Manipal Tigers faced the winner of the eliminator match India Capitals in the second qualifier and defeated them to secure a place in the final of the tournament. After winning the toss, captain of Manipal Tigers, Harbhajan Singh won the toss and opted to bowl first. For Urbanrisers Hyderabad, Dwayne Smith and Martin Guptill opened the innings. They faced an early setback as Guptill was dismissed by Pankaj Singh without opening his account. Dwayne Smith (21) was the next to get dismissed by Mitchel McClenaghan at the score of 36. Rikki Clarke (80 in 52 balls, with six fours and four sixes) and Gurkeerat Singh (64 in 36 balls, with eight fours and two sixes) added 122 more runs for the third wicket before Gurkeerat was dismissed by Pankaj Singh. Peter Trego scored a quick-fire 17 runs from six balls towards the end of the innings and helped his team to post a total of 187/5 at the end of the 20th over. For the Manipal Tigers, Pankaj Singh(2/43) was the pick of the bowlers. Mitchell McClenaghan and Thisara Perera also took one wicket each in the innings. Chasing a target of 188 runs, Robin Uthappa and Chadwick Walton opened the innings for Manipal Tigers. The duo added 71 runs for the first wicket before Chadwick (29 in 17 balls, with four boundaries and a six) was dismissed by Stuart Binny. Robin Uthappa (40 in 27 balls, with five fours and a six) was the next to get dismissed followed by Amit Verma (8). Manipal was 80/3 in 8.3 overs. Angelo Perera (30 in 23 balls, with a four and six) and Asela Gunaratne (51* in 29 balls, with five sixes) provided a solid partnership to the Manipal Tigers and added 56 runs for the fourth wicket. After the dismissal of Angelo Perera, Thisara Perera joined Asela Gunaratne on the crease. Manipal Tigers needed just one run to win when Thisara Perera (25 in 13 balls, with three fours and a six) got dismissed by Jerome Taylor. Colin de Grandhomme came to bat and hit a six off the first ball he faced over mid-wicket to finish the match in style and help the Manipal Tigers lift the 2023 Legends League Cricket trophy. For Urbanrisers Hyderabad, Stuart Binny(3/20) was the pick of the bowlers while Shadab Jakati and Jerome Taylor took one wicket each. (ANI)
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