Road Safety World Series: West Indies legends beat Pietersen’s England to set up semis clash with India Legends

Chasing 187 runs to win, West Indies rode on half-centuries by Dwayne Smith and Narsingh Deonarine to defeat Kevin Pietersen's England by five wickets.

Brian Lara celebrates after West Indies Legends beat England Legends (Source: Twitter)

West Indies Legends defeated England Legends by five wickets in a thrilling contest at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium to enter the semi-finals of the Road Safety World Series on Tuesday.

Chasing 187 runs to win, West Indies rode on half-centuries by Dwayne Smith and Narsingh Deonarine to defeat Kevin Pietersen's men in the match which went down the wire as Windies lost the wicket of skipper Brian Lara when they needed 1 off 2 balls. However, with 1 required on the last ball, Tino Best calmly played the ball on the onside for a quick single that saw West Indies cross the finishing line on the very last ball of the match.

Earlier, Phil Mustard and Owais Shah’s fifties along with little cameos from other players helped England Legends set a challenging target after they were put to bat first. Mustard hit 57 runs off 41 balls with three sixes and five fours while the No.4 batsman Shah hit an unbeaten 30-ball 53 which included three maximums and five boundaries.

However, the target didn’t prove to be enough for Brian Lara’s side.

Meanwhile, the victory helped West Indies Legends finish fourth in the points table, edging out England on better Net Run Rate and enter the semis where they will meet Sachin Tendulkar-led India Legends, who finished second in group stage. The match will take place on Wednesday (March 17) evening.

Brief scores: England Legends 186/3 in 20 overs (Phil Mustard 57, Owais Shah 53*, Kevin Pietersen 38, Jim Troughton 22; Dwayne Smith 2/31) lost to West Indies Legends 187/5 in 20 overs (Dwayne Smith 58, Narsing Deonarine 53*; Kirk Edwards 34; Chris Tremlett 2/37, James Tredwell 2/35) by 5 wickets.