India Maharajas defeated World Giants by six wickets in Match No. 1 of the Legends League Cricket on Friday.
The Giants got off to a fast start after being put in to bat first. Kevin O'Brien and Hamilton Masakadza put on 50 runs from 5.3 overs for the first wicket. O'Brien, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, was the aggressor, scoring a 29-ball half-century.
Former Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza also struck four fours and provided assistance to O'Brien. Pankaj Singh gave the Maharajas their first victory by defeating Masakadza.
Harbhajan Singh castled Jacques Kallis after Joginder Sharma sent back the dangerous O'Brien. Following that, the Giants' ship was steadied by Denesh Ramdin, who also announced his retirement this year, and Thisara Perera.
The pair scored 42 runs for the fourth wicket and created the groundwork for the Giants. Ramdin continued undefeated after Perera was out for 23 on 42 off 29 with five fours and one six. The Giants reached 170 for eight on the strength of Ramdin's knock.
The Maharajas' run-chase didn't get started to the best of starts. To draw first blood, Fidel Edwards got rid of Virender Sehwag. Mohammad Kaif and Parthiv Patel each scored 11 runs before Tim Bresnan took their wickets.
But after that, it was all one-way traffic in favor of the Maharajas. Tanmay Srivastava, one of the tournament's youngest players, produced a half-century off 33 balls to push the Maharajas closer to victory.
Yusuf and Srivastava put on a 100-run stand off 62 balls, putting the Maharajas in command. Yusuf went on to shoot a 35-ball 50, and his younger brother, Irfan, hit three sixes in a nine-ball 20, enabling the Maharajas win by eight balls.
