Picture Credit: X/@WCL
On Tuesday, July 29, India Champions registered their maiden win in the ongoing World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025 as they defeated West Indies Champions by five wickets at the Grace Road in Leicester. After being given 145-run target to chase, an unbeaten 50 off 21 deliveries from Stuart Binny along with key 20-plus scores from Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan, India Champions chased the total in 13.2 overs to progress into the semi-finals.
For the unversed, after winning the toss, Yuvraj Singh, the captain of India Champions, decided to field first. On the back of Kieron Pollard’s unbeaten 74 off 43 deliveries, the Windies Champions posted 144 at the loss of nine wickets in their stipulated 20 overs. During his stay in the middle, Pollard hit three fours and eight sixes at a strike rate of 172.09 to help his side reach a competitive score. Apart from him, only Dwayne Smith added key 20 runs in his 21-ball stay.
For India Champions, Piyush Chawla starred with the ball, picking three wickets in his four-over spell. Apart from him, Varun Aaron and Stuart Binny picked up two wickets each whereas Pawan Negi too got one to his name, thus restricting the Chris Gayle-led side to below 150-run. In reply to this, the opening pair of Robin Uthappa and Shikhar Dhawan started well, but the former departed after adding only eight runs.
India to play Pakistan Champions in first semi-final of WCL 2025
Although, the Windies side reduced India to 36/2 in 4.4 overs, Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Suresh Raina also could not make much of an impact with the bat as they departed having scored seven runs each. Middle-order batter Stuart Binny, played a gritty knock of unbeaten 50 along with a seven-ball 21* from Yusuf Pathan, both of whom guided the side to victory.
With this win, India Champions sealed the final berth in the semi-finals, and will now take on Pakistan Champions in the first semi-final, set to be played on Thursday, July 31 from 5:00 pm (IST) onwards. The match will be played at the Edgbaston in Birmingham. However, a clarity on the clash will be taken in due time, it has to be seen if India will take the field or not after their earlier match against their arch-rivals was called off after players withdrew due to cross-border tensions.
Moreover, in the second semi-final, South Africa Champions will lock horns with Australia Champions later in the day on Thursday, July 31. The winner of both the semi-finals will take on each other in the summit clash, set to be played on August 2 from 9:00 pm (IST) onwards at the Edgbaston in Birmingham.
