Tearful Harbhajan Singh hugs Irfan Pathan on scoring winning boundary as India Champions beat Pakistan in WCL final

India Champions beat Pakistan Champions by five wickets in the 2024 World Champions Championship of Legends final in Birmingham on Saturday. Ambati Rayudu laid the perfect foundation with his fiery half-century, followed by notable contributions from Yusuf Pathan, Gurkeerat Mann and captain Yuvraj Singh as India chased down 157 runs with five balls to spare.

Opting to bat first at the venue, where chasing teams have done marginally better, Pakistan were restricted to just 156 for six. Anureet Singh was the pick of the bowlers for the Indian side as he bagged up an impressive three-wicket haul.

Openers Robin Uthappa and Rayudu then got India Champions off to a promising start with a 34-run stand, before fast bowler Aamer Yamin brought Pakistan back into the game with two quick wickets. India, however, recovered well as Rayudu forged a 60-run stand with Gurkeet en route to his 30-ball 50, before Yusuf and Yuvraj stitched an aggressive 42-run partnership to take the side closer to victory.

Wahab Riaz broke the partnership by dismissing Yusuf in the 19th over, giving Pakistan yet another chance as they required to defend seven runs from the remaining 10 balls.

Eventually, it was Irfan Pathan who held his nerves in the final over to smash the winning boundary, against Sohail Tanvir, straight over the bowler’s head, and wrapped up the match in favour of India Champions. The all-rounder roared in celebration before being congratulated and hugged by Yuvraj. Later, Harbhajan Singh, who picked six wickets for Indian Champions through the course of the tournament, was left emotional as tears rolled down his eyes and he embraced Irfan in a warm hug after the match.

With the win, India Champions also avenged their loss against arch-rivals Pakistan earlier in the group stage of the tournament. A fiery performance from the Pakistan top-order – Kamran Akmal, Sharjeel Khan and Shoaib Maqsood – all of whom scored their respective fifties – had helped the team script an emphatic 68-run win at the same venue last week.