WCL 2025: England Score First Win Over India

Jul 29, 2025 - 00:00

England Champions put on a great show to put India Champions on the verge of an early World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025 elimination by winning a thrilling 23-run match here at Headingley on Sunday. Ravi Bopara’s blazing, undefeated century and Ajmal Shahzad’s sharp bowling helped them win.

Yuvraj Singh, the captain of India, chose to field first after winning the toss. This turned out to be a bad choice because England scored an incredible 223 runs in 20 overs, making it hard for India.

Bopara grabbed the show with a stunning performance of 110 not out off 55 balls, hitting eight huge sixes and eight boundaries. His innings was a masterclass in controlled aggression, and he kept the score moving at all times.

Ian Bell helped Bopara out by hitting 54 runs off 36 balls, including six fours and two sixes. Moeen Ali scored 33 runs off of 13 balls, and Samit Patel scored 20 runs off of just nine balls. Harbhajan Singh was the best Indian bowler, taking 3/18 in three overs. Varun Aaron took 1/34 runs.

India Champions tried hard to reach a tough goal of 224, but they only got to 200/8 in 20 overs. Yusuf Pathan was the best scorer with 52 runs off 29 balls, hitting two sixes and six boundaries.

Captain Yuvraj Singh scored 38 runs off 27 balls, as Stuart Binny (35) and Ambati Rayudu (28) sought to keep the team’s hopes alive. But regular wickets made the pursuit harder. Ajmal Shahzad’s brilliant spell, in which he took 4/31 runs in four overs, changed the game completely in England’s advantage.

Stuart Meaker got two wickets, and Ravi Bopara and Ryan Sidebottom each got one.