In the fifth match of the ongoing Legends League Cricket (LLC), the World Giants registered a hard-fought three-wicket win against the India Maharajas at West End Park International Cricket Stadium in Doha on March 15 (Wednesday). It was for the second time this season that Aaron Finch's men registered a win over India. After the victory, the Giants scaled to the top of the points table with two wins in three matches while the Maharajas are stationed at the bottom with just one win in four matches.
Chasing a modest target of 137 runs, the Giants rode on Chris Gayle's entertaining knock and chased down the target with eight balls to spare. The 'Universe Boss' scored an attractive half-century before Suresh Raina sent the West Indian back to the hut. Gayle departed after scoring 57 runs off 46 balls with the help of nine fours and a six. Shane Watson (26 runs off 16 balls) made a handy contribution as well.
For the Maharajas, Yusuf Pathan bagged two wickets while Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Dinda, Pravin Tambe and Raina chipped in with a wicket each.
Earlier, the Giants won the toss and elected to bowl first. In Gautam Gambhir's absence, Harbhajan led the Maharajas. After being reduced to 24/2, the Maharajas called their way back when Raina (49 runs off 41 balls) and Manvinder Bisla (36 runs off 34 balls) combined for a 60-run partnership for the third wicket.
The Maharajas once again lost their way after the partnership was broken and if not for Irfan Pathan's handy cameo of 25 runs in 20 balls, the team would have struggled to post a total of 136/9 in 20 overs.
For the Giants, Brett Lee bagged three wickets while Chris Mpofu struck twice on the evening along with Tino Best. Samit Patel and Monty Panesar chipped in with a wicket each.
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