Jodhpur, Oct 3: Irfan Pathan-led Bhilwara Kings on Monday (October 3) chased down a mammoth total to register an emphatic 6-wicket win over Gujarat Giants and stormed into the final of the Legends League Cricket (LLC) against India Capitals.
In the Eliminator at the Barkatullah Khan Stadium in Jodhpur, the Kings' batters out-batted the Giants by chasing down a 195-run target in 18.3 overs.
The
Kings
latched
on
to
the
chase
from
the
very
beginning
of
their
innings
as
their
openers
-
William
Porterfield
and
Morne
van
Wyk
-
put
on
a
terrific
opening
stand
of
91
in
nine
overs.
While
Porterfield
scored
60
off
43
balls,
Van
Wyk
got
31
off
18
balls.
Once
the
openers
were
back
to
the
hut,
Shane
Watson
and
brothers
Yusuf
and
Irfan
Pathan
did
their
bit
to
help
the
Kings
race
to
their
target.
While
Watson
remained
not
out
on
48
off
24
balls,
Yusuf
(21
off
11
balls)
and
captain
Irfan
(22
off
13
balls)
played
crucial
cameos.
Former
Australia
all-rounder
Watson
looked
in
an
explosive
mood
with
two
fours
and
five
sixes.
Earlier, though Chris Gayle could not work his magic, the Gujarat Giants recovered well to post a challenging 194/9 in 20 overs.
Two brisk forties from Yashpal Singh (43 off 35 balls) and Kevin O'Brien (45 off 24 balls) after opener Tillakaratne Dilshan had got a useful 36 off 26 balls helped the Giants' cause.
The Giants did not have the best of starts after electing to bat as they lost Caribbean superstar Gayle in the very second over of the innings to a run out. The Giants were in further trouble when Parthiv Patel, captaining the team on Monday, was dismissed in the fourth over.
Then Dilshan and Yashpal shared a crucial 45-run partnership to revive the team. But after Dilshan got out, Thisara Perera was gone for a duck as the Giants looked edgy at the halfway mark of their innings.
But Yashpal and Irish power-hitter O'Brien joined forces to pull the Giants out of the crisis. Employing their big hits to good effect, the two shared a 52-run partnership to boost the Giants.
The Giants also used the last five overs of their innings well as they stole 51 runs from them. But that clearly was not enough to intimidate the Kings.
The final, between the Capitals and the Kings, will be played at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday (October 5).