Openers Virender Sehwag (74*) and Sachin Tendulkar (36) starred for India Legends at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in the Road Safety World Series match against West Indies Legends. Spearheaded by the opening duo, the Indians got home with seven wickets and ten balls to spare.
In front of a packed house, local boy Tendulkar opted to field first and his bowlers restricted the Windies to 150/8 in lively batting conditions. Zaheer Khan (2/30), Munaf Patel (2/24) and spinner Pragyan Ojha (2/27) inflicted regular breakthroughs as West Indies were unable to create momentum in their innings. Khan also picked up a stunning catch at deep mid-wicket to send back big-hitting Ricardo Powell.
Left-armer Irfan Pathan got the prized wicket of skipper Brian Lara, who looked good during his brief stay at the crease. Shivnarine Chanderpaul top-scored for his side with a steely 61. Tendulkar and Sehwag turned back the clock and went on a boundary-hitting spree during their 83-run opening stand. Tendulkar struck seven boundaries for his 29-ball 36 while Sehwag was the star of the show with a swashbuckling unbeaten 74, which came from just 57 balls. His innings was laced with 11 boundaries.
Carl Hooper picked up back-to-back wickets, removing Mohammed Kaif and pinch-hitter Manpreet Gony to send some panic in the Indian camp. But Yuvraj Singh played a no-nonsense cameo along with Sehwag, who was still going strong, to take the India Legends home.
Brief scores
Indian Legends 151/3 in 18.2 overs (Virender Sehwag 74*, Sachin Tendulkar 36; Carl Hooper 2/19) beat West Indies Legends 150/8 in 20 overs (Shivnarine Chanderpaul 61, Darren Ganga 32, Brian Lara 17; Zaheer Khan 2/30, Munaf Patel 2/24) by 7 wickets.