The second edition of the Road Safety World Series T20 competition got off to a thunderous start, courtesy of an explosive knock from Stuart Binny. In the first match of the season, India Legends, led by Sachin Tendulkar registered a convincing 61-run win over South Africa Legends at the iconic Green Park stadium in Kanpur. While Sachin's willow failed to entertain millions of fans waiting to watch the 'master blaster' roll back the years, it was Binny who enthralled the onlookers through his brutal stroke-making capabilities.
After electing to bat first, India Legends got off to a flying start before Makhaya Ntini dismissed Sachin (16 runs off 15 balls) on the second ball of the sixth over. India lost both its openers in the span of six runs as Naman Ojha (21 runs off 18 balls) departed on the first ball of the seventh over. Once Suresh Raina and Stuart Binny joined forces, the jam-packed Green Park stadium got to witness what it craved.
Raina and Binny counter-attacked straightaway and boundaries started flowing, much to the enjoyment of the buoyant supporters. The two Indian batters combined for a partnership of 64 runs for the third wicket before Raina (33 runs off 22 balls) was dismissed by Eddie Leie.
Despite losing his partner, Binny didn't remove his foot from the accelerator and continued to punish the Protea bowlers. Yuvraj Singh (6 runs off 8 balls) was dismissed 12 balls after Raina's dismissal and India were reduced to 129.4 after 14.3 overs.
Binny ensured India Legends didn't lose the initiative and soon scored his half-century. Yusuf Pathan proved an able ally for Binny as the two batter combined for an unbeaten 88-run stand for the fifth wicket and helped India post a monumental total of 217/4 in 20 overs. Binny smashed five fours and six sixes in his unbeaten knock of 82 runs in 42 balls while Yusuf whacked four sixes and a four in his unbeaten innings of 35 runs off 15 balls.
Johan van der Wath (2/28) was the pick of all South African bowlers while Ntini (1/52) and (Leie 1/35) chipped in with a wicket each.
In reply to India's daunting total, South Africa never looked like chasing down or even coming close to the target as Indian bowlers kept chipping away at the wickets column. Captain Jonty Rhodes, who walked out to bat at number six, was the top scorer for South Africa Legends. Rhodes scored unbeaten 38 runs off 27 balls with the help of five fours and a six. Andrew Puttick (23 runs off 24 balls) and Morne van Wyk (26 runs off 24 balls) combined for a 43-run stand for the opening wicket but their knocks lacked intensity. In the end, the Proteas could only manage a score of 156/9 in 20 overs.
For India, spinner Rahul Sharma (3/17) bagged the most wickets while Pragyan Ojha (2/32) and Munaf Patel (2/24) chipped in with two wickets as well. Irfan Pathan (1/29) and Yuvraj Singh (1/7) bagged a wicket each.
