Road Safety World Series 2021: India Legends enter finals: Key players for March 21, all you need to know

Raipur, March 18: India Legends became the first finalists of the first edition of the Road Safety World Series 2021. The India Legends side - which is being led by former India captain and batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar - defeated Brian Lara-led West Indies Legends in the first semi-final of the T20 tournament which is being held at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Wednesday (March 17).

The match which saw both the teams scoring more than 200, was eventually won by India Legends by 12 runs. Riding on superlative batting performance and a brilliant comeback from the bowlers in the second half of the West Indies innings, India Legends managed to restrict Windies to 206 for 6 in the stipulated 20 overs after the hosts scored a mammoth 218/3.

Road Safety World Series 2021, Semi-final 1: India Legends beat West Indies by 12 runs to enter finals

1st finalists:

The India Legends thus became the first team to enter the finals of the tournament. They will now wait for the winner of the second semi-final between South Africa Legends and Sri Lanka Legends. The winner of the second semi-final will meet the Indians in the summit clash on Sunday (March 21).

Who were the heroes of India Legends' Win?

Sachin Tendulkar:

Captain Sachin Tendulkar slammed another impressive half-century and showed the world that he's still capable of wielding that willow and make the bowlers dance to his tune. The batting maestro played a knock of 65 runs (6X fours, 3X sixes) off just 42 deliveries.

Virender Sehwag:

The aggressive opener gave the hosts a brisk start as he fired a 17-ball 35 (5X fours, 1X six) in his explosive cameo and gave his team a brilliant start. By the time Sehwag was dismissed the Indians had already reached 56 in 5.3 overs.

Mohammed Kaif:

The right-handed batsman from Uttar Pradesh walked into the middle at number three and took some times to settle down. The right-handed middle-order batsman scored 27 off 21 deliveries before getting dismissed.

Yuvraj-Yusuf show:

After Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed for 65, all-rounder Yusuf Pathan was joined by Yuvraj Singh in the middle and the duo took the West Indies bowlers on remand. Yusuf hammered 37* off 20 deliveries while Yuvraj tonked an unbeaten 49 of 20 deliveries. The southpaw once again reminded the fans of the heydays - when he slammed four maximums in an over.

Bowlers bring India back in the game:

Later in the bowling department, R Vinay Kumar, Manpreet Goni and Irfan Pathan performed well, especially in the death overs when they restricted the in-form and star-studded West Indies batsmen to pull-off yet another run chase.

R Vinay Kumar and Irfan Pathan bowled 19th and 20th over for the Indians after the West Indies batsmen were going all guns blazing. But the former pacers showed great skills and composure to stay calm and ensured the Caribbeans couldn't trouble them much.

All these players are going to be key to India's success in the final but they'll face formidable opposition in the summit clash.