Road Safety World Series: Yuvraj Singh, Pathan brothers lead India to 'legendary win'

Former Indian cricketers Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, and Irrfan Pathan made huge contributions to Sunday’s Road Safety World Series Final as they helped India Legends clinch the first-ever title. Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan scored blistering half-centuries in the first innings to steer the Sachin Tendulkar-led side to a comfortable position. Pathan brothers took two wickets each in the second innings as India Legends beat their Sri Lankan counterpart by 14 runs. 

Yuvraj, Pathan brothers win match for India

Sri Lanka Legends won the toss and elected to bowl first at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. India Legends openers came in to bat but couldn’t form a partnership as Virender Sehwag was bowled by Rangana Herath for just 10 runs. Another Indian Legends wicket fell down after one over, following which Yuvraj Singh joined Sachin Tendulkar to steady the ship with their partnership of 43 runs. 

Sachin was dismissed by Farveez Maharoof in the 10th over for 30 runs, which included five boundaries. Yusuf Pathan and Yuvraj Singh brought India back to the game as they scored 85 runs together. Yuvraj hit 60 off 41 balls at a strike rate of 146.34, while Yusuf top-scored with 62 not-out off just 36 deliveries, including 5 sixes and four boundaries to his name. India Legends posted a target of 182 runs in 20 overs. 

Sri Lanka Legends came in to bat in the second innings and looked formidable as the opening partners formed a partnership of 62 runs. Yusuf Pathan provided a breakthrough by taking the wicket of Sri Lankan skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan, who was also the top run-scorer and wicket-taker in the tournament. After the first wicket fell, Sri Lankan batting-line up started to plummet like a house of cards as Yusuf and his younger brother Irrfan Pathan took two consecutive wickets. 

At the end, Sri Lanka Legends were restricted to 167-7, making India the first team to win the Road Safety World Series. Yusuf Pathan finished second on the chart of most wickets taken during the course of the tournament, while Yuvraj Singh finished sixth in terms of total runs scored. Yuvraj's mind-blowing performance in the series, which include four consecutive sixes against South Africa Legends, prompted fans to celebrate him on social media as they flooded the timeline with trivial posts. 

(Image Credit: Instagram/Yuvraj Singh/Yusuf Pathan/Irrfan Pathan)