Manipal Tigers vs Gujarat Greats Match 15 Match Commentary: Legends League Cricket, 2024

6.32pm  That's it from this game then! But we are not done for the day yet. In just a few minutes' time, we shall have the second game of this Saturday double header - Toyam Hyderabad taking on Southern Super Stars. The first ball will be bowled at 7 pm IST (1330 GMT) but our colleagues have already made a headstart to that game. Please head over to that matchcentre to catch all the action. In the meanwhile, you can also catch some action from the Women's T20 World Cup, with England scheduled to take on Bangladesh. Keep browsing the tabs to find the match you want to follow. ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

6.31pm  Gujarat Greats will have their next match against India Capitals, on Monday, 7th October, 2024, in a night game at this same venue in Jammu. Manipal Tigers too, will have their last shot against India Capitals, but on Thursday, 10th October, 2024, in a night game in Srinagar, beginning at 7 pm IST (1330 GMT). One believes that before that Thursday clash, this table will even up and we should be in a good position to know whether Gujarat can qualify or not, assuming that Manipal look good enough to make it through.

6.31pm  Victorious Manipal Tigers captain, HARBHAJAN SINGH, says that it was a difficult wicket to bat on but his side executed the plans better and which is why they are on the winning side. Admits that by bowling second, they managed to understand the pitch a lot better in the chase. On the batting approach, Bhajji says that the batters first concentrated on getting the team to safety and then play their strokes. Is happy to have Praveen Gupta back in the side and happier for busting the myth which states that a left-armer cannot bowl to a left-hander, by dismissing both, Dhawan and Gayle. On the victory celebration, Harbhajan says that the results do not matter at the end of the day and they celebrate at the end of the game, irrespective of the result.

6.26pm  Manipal Tigers' PRAVEEN GUPTA HAS BEEN NAMED AS THE PLAYER OF THE MATCH. No interview. Sad.

6.24pm  Gujarat Greats skipper, SHIKHAR DHAWAN, says that 131 was a good score on the board, albeit not a winning one, but a fighting one for sure. Praises Manipal for bowling and batting well, keeping Gujarat under pressure. Rues his team's poor show in the Powerplay with both bat and ball, with both sides looking to make the most of the fielding restrictions. Is excited to see Chris Gayle in the eleven and hopes for a big knock in the coming games. Confirms that The Universe Boss will not open and will come at 3.

6.23pm  ... THE PRESENTATION ...

6.23pm  Not a great day at the office for the Greats. First, they threw the advantage away of winning the toss by losing 3 wickets inside 4 overs and then, with the ball, threw away another advantage through the back end of the first innings, by being listless with the ball. Mohammad Kaif's 34 and a quickfire 20 from Seekkuge Prasanna pushed them to 131 but had they batted a bit more sensibly, they could have got to 150 and that could have made a difference. 3 run outs in the innings tells you the story. Manipal Tigers were excellent with the ball, with Praveen Gupta's 2/27 standing out. There was a bit of bizarre captaincy by Harbhajan Singh towards the end, not utilizing his primary bowlers but he got away with it. Please stay tuned for the presentation...

6.19pm  Gujarat then came back, through Manan Sharma and Seekkuge Prasanna, as they managed to stage a mini collapse, reducing Manipal to 86/5 from 82/2. At that stage, it did appear like the Greats were coming back into the game, but along came two Sri Lankan finishers - Asela Gunaratne and Thisara Perera - who just took the bull by the horns. There is a saying in cricket - if there is something which is troubling you, hit your way out of trouble. Spinners got Gujarat back into the game and it was those same spinners who were targetted by the two Lankans. Suddenly, in a matter of 10 balls, 21 runs were scored and the pressure shifted considerably.

6.13pm  At the halfway mark, we did feel that 132 was a challenging target on this particular pitch where the balls were keeping low and not quite coming onto the bat. But an ordinary start from Gujarat helped Manipal in fine fashion as the openers just teed off. They got 40 in the first 4 overs and eventually ended the Powerplay with 57/2, effectively killing the chase there itself.

6.13pm  Comfortable victory for Manipal in the end. They seemed to stutter a little bit in the middle overs, when they lost 3 wickets in the span of 7 balls, but experience eventually got them through. They jump up to second in the points table, while Gujarat Greats have dropped down to 5th. They have a couple of games left, but it is going to be dependent on other teams as well.