India champions suffered a four-wicket loss to South Africa champions in the 11th match of the World Championship of Legends tournament in Sharjah on Sunday.
After being asked to bat first, India posted 196/8 on the board following fifties from (77) and Stuart Binny (50). In reply, JP Duminy (66) and Colin Ingram (40) played match-winning knocks to power the Proteas to a four-wicket win with seven balls to spare.
Champions currently lead the six-team standings with six points from three matches, thus maintaining their unbeaten run. India Champions, on the other hand, are in fourth place with two points from three matches.
Talking about the match, Champions made a brisk start through Uthappa and Ambati Rayudu, who added 95 runs for the opening wicket. Uthappa struck six fours and six sixes during his 31-ball innings, maintaining an attacking approach against the South African bowlers.
Rayudu contributed 19 off 19 balls before Shaun von Berg dismissed him. India captain Yuvraj Singh followed in the next over, falling for a first-ball duck to leave the side at 95/2.
Uthappa’s innings ended at 99/3 when Imran Tahir dismissed him in the ninth over. Binny then took responsibility for maintaining the scoring rate, reaching 50 off 30 deliveries with two fours and five sixes.
Yusuf Pathan added 24 off 23 balls, but India lost wickets during the closing overs. Binny was dismissed at 159/4 in the 16th over, while Irfan Pathan, Rishi Dhawan and Pawan Negi also departed as India finished on 196/8.
Tahir and von Berg claimed two wickets each for South Africa. Hardus Viljoen conceded 51 runs in four overs, while Marchant de Lange gave away 53.
South Africa began their chase aggressively, with Richard Levi scoring 24 off 12 balls and Faf du Plessis making 20 off 16.
However, Piyush Chawla removed Levi, while Dhawal Kulkarni dismissed du Plessis. Chawla then sent back for a two-ball duck, leaving South Africa at 46/3.
Duminy and Morne van Wyk steadied the innings before Pawan Negi dismissed van Wyk for 14. Duminy continued to attack, finding support from Colin Ingram, who scored 40 off 24 balls.
The pair added valuable runs to keep South Africa ahead of the required rate. Ingram fell to Rishi Dhawan, but Duminy continued to guide the chase with seven sixes and two fours in his 34-ball knock.
Duminy’s dismissal in the 18th over, caught by substitute Rahul Sharma off Abhimanyu Mithun, briefly left South Africa needing to finish the job with wickets in hand.
Wayne Parnell, unbeaten on 12 off eight balls, and Hardus Viljoen, who scored an unbeaten nine off four deliveries, completed the chase.
Viljoen struck a six off Negi in the 18.5th over to seal the four-wicket victory. South Africa finished on 198/6, with 11 balls remaining in the innings after the final over’s wides were accounted for.
The result gave South Africa Champions another win in the league stage of the 2026 World Championship of Legends, while India Champions were left to regroup after a defeat despite posting a total close to 200.
