The Legends League Cricket (LLC), which was taking place in India for the first time, saw the India Capitals named champions.
The Capitals defeated Bhilwara Kings by 104 runs in a thrilling championship game on Wednesday at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in this city to win the trophy.
After faltering early on, the Capitals, led by Gautam Gambhir, produced an outstanding comeback to score 211/7 in 20 overs. The Kings were all out for just 107 in 18.2 overs after crumbling under the weight of the lofty score.
The Capitals' innings was crafted by Ross Taylor (82 off 41 balls) and Mitchell Johnson (62 off 35 balls), who had a 126-run stand for the fifth wicket. The Kings' batters were unable to forge any significant partnerships.
Morne van Wyk (5) and William Porterfield (12), the Kings' openers, were dismissed after four overs. The large shoulders of Yusuf Pathan (#6) were heavily relied upon, although he was short-lived. While Jesal Karia (22), who had potential but was unable to play for very long, and Shane Watson (27), who was unfortunate to be run out.
The Kings' pursuit was all but over when their skipper, Irfan Pathan (2), was dismissed in the 12th over.
Three bowlers for the Capitals each grabbed two wickets: Pawan Suyal (2/27), Pankaj Singh (2/14) and Pravin Tambe (2/19). The Capitals' success was the result of a superb team effort. Tight bowling and nimble fielding went well with the solid batting.
However, the Kings really enjoyed a fantastic start to the match after winning the toss and choosing to field. As a result of Irfan's strategy to begin with spin from both ends, the Capitals were four wickets down by the fifth over.
Rahul Sharma and Monty Panesar used their spin web to bring the Capitals down to 21/4. The counterattack, however, then started. The bowlers for the Kings were taken by Taylor and Johnson by the scruff of their necks and trampled all over the ground.
The match's ninth over proved to be crucial for the Capitals' innings. Taylor, a former captain of New Zealand, destroyed Yusuf's spin to score 30 runs off of one over. In that over, he smacked a four and four sixes.
Tim Bresnan, a former England pacer, ended the partnership by removing Johnson in the 15th over. But by that point, Johnson had smashed three sixes and seven fours.