2020–21 Road Safety World Series
The 2020–21 Road Safety World Series was the inaugural season of the Road Safety World Series, a Twenty20 cricket league featuring retired international cricketers. It was organised by the Road Safety World Series to raise awareness about road safety.[1][2] The 2020–21 edition of the series featured players from India, England, Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa, Australia and Bangladesh.[3] Sunil Gavaskar, former India captain, was the commissioner of the series, while Sachin Tendulkar was its brand ambassador.[4]
| Dates | 7 March 2020 – 21 March 2021 |
|---|---|
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Round robin and Knock-out |
| Host(s) | India |
| Champions | India Legends (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Sri Lanka Legends |
| Participants | 7 |
| Matches | 19 |
| Player of the series | Tillakaratne Dilshan |
| Most runs | Tillakaratne Dilshan (271) |
| Most wickets | Tillakaratne Dilshan (12) |
| Official website | worldseriest20.com |
Background
The Road Safety World Series was founded by Ravi Gaikwad and approved by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.[5][6][7] The first edition of the tournament began in March 2020, with the tournament taking place at venues in Mumbai and Pune in India.[8] The tournament was to be played in a round-robin format with the top two finishers playing the final.[9]
Only four matches were played in 2020 and on 13 March, as a result of an advisory by Indian Government following the COVID-19 pandemic, the remaining seven matches were rescheduled to a later date.[10] Initially it was decided that the remaining matches would be played behind closed doors at DY Patil Stadium;[11] but the tournament was later indefinitely postponed.
Instead of starting afresh in 2021, the organisers opted to resume the previous edition. Bangladesh Legends and England Legends were added to the tournament after Australia Legends opted out due to COVID-19 restrictions making overseas travel impossible for Australians.[12][13]
Venues
The 11 matches were initially scheduled to be played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, and MCA Stadium in Pune with the final initially scheduled for 22 March 2020 in Pune.[14] In 2021 the remaining matches were held at Raipur.[15]
Squads
Squads | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Points table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India Legends | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 1.733 |
| 2 | Sri Lanka Legends | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 1.771 |
| 3 | South Africa Legends | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 16 | −0.349 |
| 4 | West Indies Legends | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 | −0.277 |
| 5 | England Legends | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 | −1.206 |
| 6 | Bangladesh Legends | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | −2.159 |
| 7 | Australia Legends | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | −0.350 |
- Qualified to the semi-finals
- Opted out of the tournament
Tie-break criteria
- Number of wins
- Head to head results
- Net run rate.
League stage
All times are in to Indian Standard Time (IST).
2020
|
7 March 2020 |
West Indies Legends 150/8 (20 overs) |
v |
India Legends 151/3 (18.2 overs) |
India Legends won by 7 wickets |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Umpires: Anil Dandekar (Ind) and Simon Taufel (Aus) Player of the match: Virender Sehwag (India Legends) | |||||
| |||||
|
8 March 2020 |
Sri Lanka Legends 161/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Australia Legends 154 (19.5 overs) |
Sri Lanka Legends won by 7 runs |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Umpires: Anil Dandekar (Ind) and Simon Taufel (Aus) Player of the match: Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka Legends) | |||||
| |||||
|
10 March 2020 |
Sri Lanka Legends 138/8 (20 overs) |
v |
India Legends 139/5 (18.4 overs) |
India Legends Won by 5 wickets |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai Umpires: Rohan Pandit (Ind) and Simon Taufel (Aus) Player of the match: Irfan Pathan (India Legends) | |||||
| |||||
|
11 March 2020 |
West Indies Legends 143/8 (20 overs) |
v |
South Africa Legends 146/4 (18.3 overs) |
South Africa Legends won by 6 wickets |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai Umpires: Anil Dandekar (Ind) and Rohan Pandit (Ind) Player of the match: Albie Morkel (South Africa Legends) | |||||
| |||||
2021
The remaining six group matches were rescheduled to 2021. With Australia unable to play their matches, all matches involving the side were ruled as walkovers, with the opposing side gaining four points. With the expansion of the tournament the number of group-stage matches increased.
|
5 March 2021 |
Bangladesh Legends 109 (19.4 overs) |
v |
India Legends 114/0 (10.1 overs) |
India Legends won by 10 wickets |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Amiesh Saheba (Ind) and Sudhir Asnani (Ind) Player of the match: Virender Sehwag (India Legends) | |||||
|
Virender Sehwag 80* (35) | |||||
| |||||
|
6 March 2021 |
West Indies Legends 157/4 (20 overs) |
v |
Sri Lanka Legends 160/5 (19 overs) |
Sri Lanka Legends won by 5 wickets |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Sanjay Hazare (Ind) and Umesh Dubey (Ind) Player of the match: Upul Tharanga (Sri Lanka Legends) | |||||
| |||||
|
7 March 2021 |
Bangladesh Legends 113/5 (20 overs) |
v |
England Legends 117/3 (14 overs) |
England Legends win by 7 Wickets |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Amiesh Saheba (Ind) and Umesh Dubey (Ind) Player of the match: Kevin Pietersen (England Legends) | |||||
| |||||
|
8 March 2021 |
South Africa Legends 89 (18.5 overs) |
v |
Sri Lanka Legends 92/1 (13.2 overs) |
Sri Lanka Legends won by 9 wickets |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Sanjay Hazare (Ind) and Sudhir Asnani (Ind) Player of the match: Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka Legends) | |||||
| |||||
|
9 March 2021 |
England Legends 188/7 (20 overs) |
v |
India Legends 182/7 (20 overs) |
England Legends won by 6 runs |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Amiesh Saheba (Ind) and Sanjay Hazare (Ind) Player of the match: Kevin Pietersen (England Legends) | |||||
| |||||
|
10 March 2021 |
Sri Lanka Legends 180/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Bangladesh Legends 138/6 (20 overs) |
Sri Lanka Legends won by 42 runs |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Sudhir Asnani (Ind) and Umesh Dubey (Ind) Player of the match: Upul Tharanga (Sri Lanka Legends) | |||||
| |||||
|
11 March 2021 |
England Legends 121 (18.1 overs) |
v |
South Africa Legends 125/2 (13 overs) |
South Africa Legends won by 8 wickets |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Sanjay Hazare (Ind) and Umesh Dubey (Ind) Player of the match: Thandi Tshabalala (South Africa Legends) | |||||
| |||||
|
12 March 2021 |
Bangladesh Legends 169/7 (20 overs) |
v |
West Indies Legends 173/5 (18.5 overs) |
West Indies Legends won by 5 wickets |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Amiesh Saheba (Ind) and Sudhir Asnani (Ind) Player of the match: Sulieman Benn (West Indies Legends) | |||||
| |||||
|
13 March 2021 |
India Legends 204/3 (20 overs) |
v |
South Africa Legends 148/7 (20 overs) |
India Legends won by 56 runs |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Sudhir Asnani (Ind) and Umesh Dubey (Ind) Player of the match: Yuvraj Singh (India Legends) | |||||
| |||||
|
14 March 2021 |
England Legends 78/9 (20 overs) |
v |
Sri Lanka Legends 81/4 (7.3 overs) |
Sri Lanka Legends won by 6 wickets |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Amiesh Saheba (Ind) and Sanjay Hazare (Ind) Player of the match: Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka Legends) | |||||
| |||||
|
15 March 2021 |
Bangladesh Legends 160/9 (20 overs) |
v |
South Africa Legends 161/0 (19.2 overs) |
South Africa Legends won by 10 wickets |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Sudhir Asnani (Ind) and Umesh Dubey (Ind) Player of the match: Andrew Puttick (South Africa Legends) | |||||
|
Andrew Puttick 82* (54) | |||||
| |||||
|
16 March 2021 |
England Legends 186/3 (20 overs) |
v |
West Indies Legends 187/5 (20 overs) |
West Indies Legends won by 5 wickets |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Sudhir Asnani (Ind) and Umesh Dubey (Ind) Player of the match: Dwayne Smith (West Indies Legends) | |||||
| |||||
Knockout stage
The knockout stage started with semi-finals at Raipur, the winners of each progressing to the final at Raipur. If any match ended in a tie, a Super Over would be used to determine the winner.[20] If the scores in the Super Over were also tied, the winner would be determined by another Super Over and continues, until the team wins the Super Over.[21]
On 10 March 2021, Sri Lanka Legends became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals after beating Bangladesh Legends at Raipur.[22] Three days later, saw tournament hosts India Legends, the second team to qualify after they defeated South Africa Legends at Raipur on 13 March 2021.[23] The following day after, South Africa Legends became the third team to qualify after they beat Bangladesh Legends at Raipur on 15 March 2021.[24] The following day, in the final match of the league stage, West Indies Legends and England Legends played for the final spot in the semifinals. Eventually, West Indies Legends became the fourth and final team to qualify for the semi-finals after they beat England Legends in a virtual quarterfinal match.[25]
The first semi-final was played between India Legends and West Indies Legends at Raipur,[26] while the second semi-final was played between Sri Lanka Legends and South Africa Legends at the same venue again.[27]
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 1 | India Legends | 218/3 (20 overs) | |||||||
| 4 | West Indies Legends | 206/6 (20 overs) | |||||||
| 1 | India Legends | 181/4 (20 overs) | |||||||
| 2 | Sri Lanka Legends | 167/7 (20 overs) | |||||||
| 3 | South Africa Legends | 125 (20 overs) | |||||||
| 2 | Sri Lanka Legends | 129/2 (17.2 overs) | |||||||
Semi-finals
The first semi-final between India Legends and West Indies Legends was played at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur on 17 March 2021.[28]
Batting first, India Legends got off to a fantastic start, but lost opener Virender Sehwag, after he gave Indians the perfect start, having scored 35 runs. However, the Indians continued their high scoring rate, as Sachin Tendulkar combined with Mohammad Kaif and Yusuf Pathan for partnerships of 53 and a quick 31 respectively. Tendulkar scored 65 runs before he was the third man out in the 14th over. After his dismissal, Yuvraj Singh combined with Yusuf Pathan for an unbeaten partnership of 78 runs, also scoring a quickfire unbeaten 49* from just 20 deliveries, which included 6 sixes, out of which 4 came in 18th over bowled by Mahendra Nagamootoo. The Indian Legends finished with a score of 218/3, after a fantastic display of batting at the end of their 20 overs.
The West Indies Legends saw William Perkins fell to Manpreet Gony in the second over, but the West Indians scored 71/1 in the first six overs, with Dwayne Smith combining with Narsingh Deonarine going berserk after the Indian bowlers. After a partnership of 99 runs for the second wicket between Dwayne Smith and Narsingh Deonarine, Smith was dismissed for 63. After Kirk Edwards was stumped by Naman Ojha off Pragyan Ojha’s bowling, falling for a first-ball duck, Brian Lara was joined by Narsingh Deonarine for a partnership of 80 runs for the fourth wicket that left West Indies Legends needing 32 runs from the final three overs; however, after the dismissal of Brian Lara and Narsingh Deonarine, within a span of 4 runs and good tight bowling by Vinay Kumar, Manpreet Gony and Irfan Pathan, Indians managed to stop West Indies Legends at 206/6, entering into finals of Road Safety World Series.[29]
|
17 March 2021 |
India Legends 218/3 (20 overs) |
v |
West Indies Legends 206/6 (20 overs) |
India Legends won by 12 runs |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
19:00 Scorecard |
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Amiesh Saheba (Ind) and Sanjay Hazare (Ind) Player of the match: Sachin Tendulkar (India Legends) | ||||
| |||||
The second semi-final saw Sri Lanka Legends take on South Africa Legends at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur on 19 March 2021.[30]
Sri Lanka Legends won the toss and chose to field first. South Africa Legends made a steady start to their innings but lost Andrew Puttick in the third over. Alviro Petersen was joined by Morné van Wyk and combined for a 53 runs partnership. Apart from these batsmen, no other batsman could significantly contribute towards the total as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Nuwan Kulasekara ran through the South African batting lineup and took 5 wickets. Somehow, the South African Legends managed to score 125, with Morné van Wyk top-scoring with 53.
Sri Lanka Legends took their time to get going in the run chase but were soon making progress before Tillakaratne Dilshan was dismissed by Makhaya Ntini for the first wicket. Quick-hitting Sanath Jayasuriya with Upul Tharanga had a small partnership of 39 runs before Petersen dismissed Jayasuriya for 18 runs. Chinthaka Jayasinghe promoted up the order, started to smash bowlers all over the park, while Tharanga played the anchor's role in the chase. The Sri Lankan Legends successfully chased the target with more than two overs to spare and saw them entering the finals against India Legends, to be played on 21 March 2021.[31]
|
19 March 2021 |
South Africa Legends 125 (20 overs) |
v |
Sri Lanka Legends 129/2 (17.2 overs) |
Sri Lanka Legends won by 8 wickets |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
19:00 Scorecard |
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Sudhir Asnani (Ind) and Umesh Dubey (Ind) Player of the match: Nuwan Kulasekara (Sri Lanka Legends) | ||||
| |||||
Final
India Legends 181/4 (20 overs) |
v |
Sri Lanka Legends 167/7 (20 overs) |
- Sri Lanka Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- India Legends became the winners of Road Safety World Series 2020–21.
Statistics
The top 5 players in each category are listed.
Most runs
| Player | Team | Matches | Runs | High score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka Legends | 8 | 271 | 61 not out |
| Upul Tharanga | Sri Lanka Legends | 6 | 237 | 99 not out |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India Legends | 7 | 233 | 65 |
| Morné van Wyk | South Africa Legends | 6 | 228 | 69 not out |
| Virender Sehwag | India Legends | 7 | 214 | 80 not out |
- Source: ESPNcricinfo
Most wickets
| Player | Team | Matches | Wickets | Best bowling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka Legends | 8 | 12 | 4/6 |
| Yusuf Pathan | India Legends | 5 | 9 | 3/28 |
| Munaf Patel | India Legends | 7 | 9 | 4/19 |
| Monty Panesar | England Legends | 6 | 8 | 4/26 |
| Rangana Herath | Sri Lanka Legends | 7 | 8 | 2/5 |
- Source: ESPNcricinfo
References
- Safety World Series cricket 30 January 2020
- Tendulkar versus Lara in Road Safety World Series opener 13 February 2020
- "Road Safety World Series 2020: Sachin Tendulkar's India Legends Announces Squad". New Nation. 18 February 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- "Tendulkar, Lara to face each other in Road Safety World Series opening match". ANI. 13 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- "Founder of Road Safety World Series T20 Cricket Ravi Gaikwad awarded for contribution in nation-building". The Free Press Journal. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- "Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara go for a scooter ride together, raise awareness - WATCH". Hindustan Times. 21 March 2021.
- "Road Safety World Series 2020: Fixtures, schedule, venues, squads, match timings and live streaming details". Sportsstar, The Hindu. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- 19 February 2020
- "Road Safety World Series: Full schedule, venue, squads as legends set for a return on cricket field". 14 February 2020.
- "In the interest of public safety & security and support to the Government, Road Safety World Series rescheduled, new dates to be announced later". Road Safety World Series. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- "Unacademy Road Safety World Series to be played behind closed doors in DY Patil Stadium". Road Safety World Series. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- "Unacademy Road Safety World Series gets bigger with England and Bangladesh Legends' entry". 19 February 2021.
- "Australia pull out, Bangladesh and England join Road Safety World Series T20 tournament". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- "Roll back the years from March 7, 2020". 25 February 2020.
- "Tendulkar & Co. are back as Raipur gets ready to host the Unacademy Road Safety World Series T20". 19 February 2021.
- "Australia Legends | Squad, News, Fixtures and more". worldseriest20.com. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- "India Legends | Squad, News, Fixtures and more". worldseriest20.com. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- "Yusuf Pathan, Sanath Jayasuriya add spice to Legends battle". 27 February 2021.
- "Australia pull out, Bangladesh and England join Road Safety World Series T20 tournament". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- 'Super Over rules'
- 'ICC changes Super Over rules'
- 'Sri Lanka Legends becomes the first team to qualify for Semi-finals'
- 'India Legends defeat South Africa Legends to book their place in Semi-finals
- 'South Africa Legends advance for Semi-finals to face Sri Lanka Legends'
- 'West Indies Legends to face India Legends in Semi-finals as England Legends miss out the chance'
- 'India Legends vs West Indies Legends - 1st Semi-final'
- 'Sri Lanka Legends vs South Africa Legends - 2nd Semi-final'
- 'West Indies Legends to face India Legends in the 1st Semi-final'
- 'India Legends enter into Finals'
- 'Sri Lanka Legends to face South Africa Legends in the 2nd Semi-final'
- 'Sri Lanka Legends to face India Legends in Finals'