India Champions (INDCH) led by former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh emerged as the winners in the inaugural edition of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2024 by securing a massive 5-wicket victory against the Pakistan Champions (PAKCH). The finals played at Edgbaston, Birmingham on 13th July 2024 (Saturday) refreshed every fan’s olden memories of the epic Indo-Pak clash where the former cricketers from both teams competed against each other to claim the prestigious trophy.

A disciplined bowling performance from Anureet Singh, Ambati Rayudu’s half-century, and brilliant cameos from Gurkeerat Singh, Yusuf Pathan, and Irfan Pathan made it easier for India during the chase to claim a comfortable win with 5 balls to spare.

The Pakistan Champions captain Younis Khan’s decision to bat first resulted in his team posting 156-6 in 20 overs. Indian middle-order batter Ambati Rayudu was awarded the man of the match whereas Yusuf Pathan grabbed the player of the tournament award.

Let’s find out how India continued its domination against Pakistan to seal a convincing victory in a crucial tournament like WCL 2024, interesting stats, and the prize money of the various award winners.

India Champions dominated against Pakistan Champions in the WCL 2024 Finals: INDCH vs PAKCH Highlights

Let’s decode the main reasons why the India Champions maintained their domination against the Pakistan Champions in the WCL 2024 finals:

1. Weak Performance from Opening Batters:

The Indian bowling all-rounder Pawan Negi was effective with his spin bowling techniques and played an important role in breaking the Pakistan Champions’ opening partnership at an early stage. As a result, Sharjeel Khan had to depart after scoring just 12 runs from 10 balls (including 2 fours) at 14-1. Later, Kamran Akmal was another opening batter to get dismissed after scoring just 24 runs from 19 balls (including 2 fours) at 68-3 in 8.2 overs.

2. Shoaib Malik’s Lone Battle:

Except for Shoaib Malik’s 36-ball-41 runs (including 3 fours) at a strike rate of 113.89, the other batters failed to score a huge score.  Whereas batters such as Sohaib Maqsood (21 runs from 12 balls-including 1 four and 2 sixes), Misbah-ul-Haq (18 runs from 15 balls-including 1 four), and Sohail Tanvir (19 runs from 9 balls-including 2 fours and 1 six)  couldn’t help Pakistan reach a massive total.

3. Anureet Singh’s 3-wicket haul:

The Indian right-arm medium pacer Anureet Singh took these 3 crucial wickets by conceding 43 runs in his 4-over spell:

• Sharjeel Khan (12 runs): At 14-1 in 1.6 overs.
• Aamer Yamin (7 runs): At 126-6 in 17.3 overs.
• Shoaib Malik (41 runs): At 133-7 in 17.6 overs.

Other bowlers in the team such as Vinay Kumar, Pawan Negi, and Irfan Pathan grabbed a wicket each to restrict Pakistan to a total of 156 runs.

4. Ambati Rayudu’s Heroic Knock:

Despite the early dismissal of Robin Uthappa (10 runs from 8 balls — including a four) and Suresh Raina (4 runs from 2 balls— including 1 four), the opening batter of the India Champions Ambati Rayudu rescued his team from a collapsing start.

Rayudu’s 30-ball-fifty (including 5 fours and 2 sixes) at a strike rate of 166.67, maintained a 50-run partnership with Gurkeerat Singh Mann (34 runs from 33 balls-including 2 fours and 1 six).

5. The Cameo of Pathan Brothers: Yusuf and Irfan

Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan’s explosive knock of 16-ball-30 runs (including 1 four and 3 sixes) at a strike rate of 187.50, completely snatched away the momentum from the Pakistan Champions.

Irfan Pathan (5 runs from 4 balls) struck the winning runs by smashing a four in the first ball of the last over bowled by Sohail Tanvir. As a result, India Champions scored 159-5 in 19.1 overs to seal a sensational victory in the first season of the World Championship of Legends tournament.

On the other hand, the skipper Yuvraj Singh played a supportive role by scoring 15 runs from 22 balls at a strike rate of 68.18 without even scoring a boundary.

However, it was interesting to watch the Pathan brothers (Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan) playing together in the same team after many years. 

WCL 2024 Award Winners and Prize Money

Here is the list of WCL 2024 (World Championship of Legends) award winners and their prize money tabulated below according to the US dollars (USD):

World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2024 Stats: Batting and Bowling

The inaugural edition of the WCL 2024 has recorded many interesting stats in terms of batting and bowling performances, tabulated below with the list of best performers:

Batting Stats:

Bowling Stats: