Despite losing to the South Africa Champions in their final league match of the World Championship of Legends 2024, the India Champions secured their place in the semi-finals.
India Champions, led by Yuvraj Singh, finished fourth in the World Championship of Legends standings and the Men in Blue have joined Australia, Pakistan, and the West Indies for the knockout stages of the tournament.
On Friday, the India Champions will face the Australia Champions in the second semi-final of the tournament. The India Champions were outplayed by the Australia Champions in their previous encounter in this prestigious tournament.
Meanwhile, the Australia Champions finished at the top of the points table with four wins, having only lost to Pakistan.
Veteran batter Robin Uthappa Robin Uthappa has been the leading run-scorer for the India Champions in the tournament. The Indian batsman has accumulated 150 runs in five matches for Yuvraj's men. A guaranteed starter in the lineup, Uthappa had a forgettable performance with the bat against the Australia Champions, scoring 12 off 9 balls.
World Cup-winner Yusuf Pathan has been a standout performer for the India Champions in the league stage. He has scored 122 runs in five matches. The second-highest run-scorer for India played a blistering knock of 78 off 48 balls against the Australia Champions.
Meanwhile, the legendary Australian pacer Brett Lee is the highest wicket-taker in the Tournament of Legends.
Lee has taken nine wickets in five games. However, the Australia Champions' skipper went wicketless against India Champions in the 23-run win over the Men in Blue.
Ben Dunk: Only England's Ian Bell has scored more runs than the Australian star Ben Dunk in the tournament. Dunk has amassed 210 runs in five matches. Dhawal Kulkarni silenced the star batter by dismissing him for 17 off 13 balls. Dunk's wicket will be key in the upcoming semi-final meeting between the two heavyweights.
Match time
PST: 8:30pm
GMT: 3:30pm
Local time: 4:30pm
Squads
India Champions Squad: Robin Uthappa, Naman Ojha(w), Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh(c), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Vinay Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni, Rahul Shukla, RP Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, Anureet Singh, Rahul Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Pawan Negi
Australia Champions Squad: Brett Lee (c), Tim Paine, Shaun Marsh, Ben Cutting, Ben Dunk, Dirk Nannes, Daniel Christian, Ben Laughlin, Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin, Callum Ferguson, Peter Siddle, Xavier Doherty, Nathan Coulter-Nile, John Hastings
