Surat, Dec 5 (IANS): Manipal Tigers will take on Urbanrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 1 as the Legends League Cricket (LLC) reaches the final stage of the 22-day extravaganza. Manipal Tigers, Urbanrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Giants and India Capitals are the four teams in contention for the coveted trophy in the second season.
Manipal Tigers had topped the table with three wins and a game to go. Urbanrisers Hyderabad are in second place with only the NRR keeping the top two teams apart as they will clash for Qualifier 1 in Surat at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium.
On qualifying for the final leg, Hashim Amla said, “We are excited to have qualified for the final leg of Legends League Cricket. As defending champions, we are looking forward to going all the way once again and as a team want to play good cricket."
"This has been a wonderful experience so far, Surat is a new city altogether and we are hoping to put up some entertaining and competitive matches for the fans coming out to watch us,” he added.
After four successful legs at Ranchi, Dehradun, Jammu and Vizag, legends of the cricketing world will descend at The Lalbhai Contractor Stadium, managed by the Surat District Cricket Association (SDCA).
Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel, Chris Gayle, Gautam Gambhir, Hashim Amla and Mohammad Kaif are just some of the names that will compete for the coveted Legends League Cricket trophy.
The last match in Vizag was scheduled between the Manipal Tigers and the Urbanrisers Hyderabad, at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Monday, had to be cancelled due to unfavourable weather conditions. In attendance during the inspection were representatives from both teams, as well as the match referee and officials.
With the cancellation, both teams were granted one point each. The current standings in the points table are as follows: Manipal Tigers have claimed the top position with seven points from five matches and a Net Run Rate (NRR) of 1.224.
Meanwhile, Urbanrisers Hyderabad secured the second position with seven points from five matches and an NRR of 0.514.
The Gujarat Giants found themselves facing an unfortunate situation as they were pushed down to the third position, despite having seven points from five matches.
However, they have a relatively low Net Run Rate (NRR) of 0.083 compared to the current top-positioned teams. They will now face India Capitals in the eliminator match, who are in the fourth position in the points table with three points from five matches and an NRR of 0.303.
Fixtures:
Qualifier 1
Dec 5: Manipal Tigers Vs Urbanrisers Hyderabad
Eliminator
Dec 6: Gujarat Giants Vs India Capitals
Qualifier 2
Dec 7: Loser of Qualifier 1 Vs Winner of Eliminator
Final
Dec 9: Winner of Qualifier 1 Vs Winner of Qualifier 2