Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], March 17 (ANI): Legends Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara are all set to take on each other once again on the cricket pitch as India Legends face off against West Indies Legends in the semi-final of the Road Safety World Series T20 at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
Two of the greatest and stylish batsmen in the history of cricket are thick friends, but when it comes to the field, they are fiercest rivals who are keen to outdo each other. This contest was the most awaited one of the tournament even though the two had locked horns last year in the opening match of the series.
The Indians had easily outplayed them by seven wickets at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai before the tournament shifted to Raipur due to the coronavirus pandemic. This time Lara, however, will be more charged up and keen to get the better of Tendulkar, especially after Windies’ win over England in the last league game of the series on Tuesday.
The team from Caribbean Island will be high on confidence post their last encounter where they easily chased down a challenging target of 187, set by Kevin Pietersen’s side. The Indians, however, will have the upper hand over their rivals. They are the league leaders and the most successful side of the tournament along with Sri Lanka Legends.
Under Tendulkar, the Indians have won five games and lost just one from six matches and lead the points table with 20 points. The Windies however have had an inconsistent tournament where they lost three and won three.
The Indians will take confidence from the last game where they scored 200-plus runs against South Africa in 20 overs, the first team to do so in the tournament. Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan’s form will be the key to India’s fortunes in taking them through to the finals.
India Legends: Sachin Tendulkar (C), Virender Sehwag, Mohammed Kaif, S Badrinath, Yuvraj Singh Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan Munaf Patel, Manpreet Singh Gony, Pragyan Ojha, R Vinay Kumar, Noel David, Naman Ojha
West Indies Legends: Brian Lara (C), Narsingh Deonarine, Adam Sanford, Dinanath Ramnarine, Pedro Collins, Ryan Austin, Suleiman Benn, Tino Best, Carl Hooper, Dwayne Smith, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Ridley Jacobs, William Perkings. (ANI)