Royals turn it around to in style to win crown

Verna: Nobody really gave Dubai Royals a chance. Certainly not when they were at the bottom of the six-team table midway into the competition, and probably not when they were drawn to play Pune Panthers in the final of the World Legends Pro T20 League.

When the two teams locked horns during the group-stage clash at the 1919 Sportz Stadium in Verna last week, it ended up being a hopelessly one-sided contest. A commanding century from Martin Guptill and a strong all-round bowling effort helped the Panthers register a comprehensive 130-run victory against the Royals.

On Wednesday, it again looked like one-way traffic with Panthers posting 194-4 in the final. But Royals turned it around in style to achieve the target with eight wickets and six balls to spare as the winners reached 197-2 in 19 overs.

“At the start of the tournament, everyone was a little bit rusty and needed a little bit of time,” said Royals head coach Wasim Jaffer. “After playing three games, they needed to get the tempo up, pull up their socks. They understood the value and played amazing cricket to win four in a row.”

It was captain Shikhar Dhawan who led from the front for Royals. If he scored a well-crafted 71 to sail past table toppers Delhi Warriors in the semifinals, he delivered again in the final. Dhawan’s 64 off 39 balls, and his opening partnership of 131 runs in 13 overs, laid the foundation for a chase that looked tricky at the start but easy as the game progressed.

At the other end, there was Manvinder Bisla (67) who put up an equally commendable show with five towering sixes and three boundaries. When the openers returned to the crease, 47 runs were still needed, and it was left to Samit Patel (28*) and Ambati Rayudu (29*) to complete the chase.

Earlier, Panthers would have thought they had the match under their grasp when openers Upul Tharanga (55) and Martin Guptill (62) put on a century stand partnership. When Tharanga was stumped with a tired, almost lazy, shot, and Rayudu took a brilliant catch to end Guptill’s inning, there was still plenty of battling left, but Panthers could not accelerate.

Shane Watson’s unbeaten 24-ball 50 took Panthers close to 200 but it was not enough in the end.

The World Legends Pro T20 League started off on a slow note. As Jaffer noted, players were rusty and took time to get into the groove. The crowd later warmed up too, and Wednesday’s final saw fans occupying every available space. With almost 400 runs being scored and the big guns firing, everyone returned home happier than ever before.