Younis Khan breaks silence after losing to India Champions in the final of WCL 2024

Legendary Pakistan batter Younis Khan lauded India Champions after the final match of the World Championship of Legends 2024. In the final, India Champions trumped Pakistan Champions in a close encounter by 5 wickets to claim the inaugural title.

Pakistan played well throughout the tournament and finished second on the points table with 4 wins and 1 defeat. In the semi-final, they defeated a dangerous West Indies side to move towards the final. On the other hand, India struggled throughout the group stage and managed just 2 wins and 3 defeats out of five matches.

But Yuvraj Singh and his men raised their game when it was needed the most and peaked at the right time. They defeated a strong Australian team in the semi-finals and then decimated another solid team Pakistan in the final to claim the trophy.

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Younis Khan hails India after Pakistan's defeat in WCL 2024 final

The captain of Pakistan champions Younis Khan hailed the Indian team after the match. Younis congratulated India Champions and accepted that the Men in Blue were better in all departments.

"Congratulations to India, they played like legends. They were spot-on in all three departments. We planned to put up a total on the board but having partnerships is mandatory in the final. India made some partnerships which helped them to chase down the total. We couldn't replicate our batting performance of the semi-finals where we stitched some partnerships," Younis said.

Pakistan's batting order was in superb form throughout the tournament but couldn't get going in the final on a slow pitch. Sharjeel Khan succumbed to a perfectly executed plan by Anureet Singh while Kamran Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood couldn't carry on their good form in this important game.

Younis also lauded his team for playing excellent cricket throughout the tournament. "There was some outstanding cricket played throughout the tournament. Before coming here, I had different expectations, but I'm proud of the effort from our team," he stated.

India Champions trump Pakistan Champions to claim WCL 2024 title

Earlier, Pakistan Champions won the toss and elected to bat first. The openers, who were in good form throughout the competition, failed to make an impact this time as Sharjeel Khan and Kamran Akmal were dismissed cheaply. Sohaib Maqsood tried to counter-attack but he failed to play a long innings.

Middle-order batter Shoaib Malik played a valiant knock of 41 off 36 balls and Sohail Tanvir scored a quickfire 19 off 9 balls to help Pakistan reach 156-6 in 20 overs. Anureet Singh picked up 3-43 for India to dismantle Pakistan's strong batting line-up.

Chasing a modest target of 157 to win, India got off to a flyer but Robin Uthappa perished trying to force quick runs. But Ambati Rayudu looked determined and steered the chase with a well-made fifty. Rayudu was dismissed soon after his half-century but skipper Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan used all their experience to take the chase deeper.

Yusuf played a blinder with 30 off 16 balls, which included 1 four and 3 sixes. Yusuf was dismissed but Irfan Pathan hit the winning runs to clinch the trophy for the India Champions.