2020–21 Road Safety World Series
The 2020–21 Road Safety World Series was the inaugural season, an international T20 cricket league, which featured former international cricketers and was organized by the Road Safety World Series (RSWS) organization 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]
 Road Safety World Series logo | |
| Dates | 7 March 2020 to 11 March 2020 – 5 March 2021 to 21 March 2021 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | Road Safety World Series |
| 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 BCCI.[5][6][7] The first edition of the tournament began in March 2020, with the tournament taking place at venues in Mumbai, India and Pune. Sachin Tendulkar (India Legends), Brian Lara (West Indies Legends) Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka Legends), Brett Lee (Australia Legends), and Jonty Rhodes (South Africa Legends) were the captains of their respective teams.[8] The tournament was to be played in a round-robin format with the top two finishers playing the final.[9]
On 13 March 2020, as a result of an advisory by Indian Government following the global coronavirus pandemic, the remaining seven matches were rescheduled to a later date.[10] Soon, it was decided that the remaining seven matches of the tournament would be played behind closed doors in DY Patil Stadium;[11] but then the tournament was indefinitely postponed.
Instead of starting afresh in 2021, the organizers opted to resume the previous edition, paused after only four games. Six teams took part in the tournament. They were India Legends, Sri Lanka Legends, South Africa Legends, West Indies Legends, Bangladesh Legends, and England Legends.
Bangladesh Legends and England Legends were added to the tournament after Australia Legends opted out due to COVID-19. Mohammad Rafique (Bangladesh Legends) and Kevin Pietersen (England Legends) were captains of their respective teams.[12][13]
Venues
The 11 matches were initially scheduled to start on 7 March 2020 and played in Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, and MCA Stadium in Pune with the final supposed to be played on March 22, 2020, in Pune.[14] In 2021, with the arrival of COVID-19 vaccine, the remaining tournament was held at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, in Raipur.[15]
| Venue | City | Country | Capacity | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wankhede Stadium | Mumbai | India | 33,108 | 2 |
| DY Patil Stadium | Navi Mumbai | India | 55,000 | 4 |
| Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium | Pune | India | 37,000 | 5 (Final) |
| Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium | Raipur | India | 65,000 | 15 (Semi-finals, Final) |
| Mumbai | Navi Mumbai | Pune | Raipur |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wankhede Stadium | DY Patil Stadium | MCA Stadium | Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium |
| Capacity: 33,108 | Capacity: 55,000 | Capacity: 37,000 | Capacity: 65,000 |
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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 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia Legends |
6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | −0.350 |
- Qualified to the semi-finals
- Opted out of the tournament
Postponed and abandoned matches
2020
South Africa Legends |
v |
Sri Lanka Legends |
- The match was postponed and played on 8th March 2021 at Raipur
India Legends |
v |
South Africa Legends |
- The match was postponed and played on 13th March 2021 at Raipur
Australia Legends |
v |
West Indies Legends |
- Points: West Indies Legends 4, Australia Legends 0
Sri Lanka Legends |
v |
West Indies Legends |
- The match was postponed and played on 6th March 2021 at Raipur
Australia Legends |
v |
South Africa Legends |
- Points: South Africa Legends 4, Australia Legends 0
India Legends |
v |
Australia Legends |
- Points: India Legends 4, Australia Legends 0
Final
2021
Australia Legends |
v |
England Legends |
- Points: England Legends 4, Australia Legends 0
League stage
All times are according to Indian Standard Time (IST).
2020
West Indies Legends 150/8 (20 overs) |
v |
India Legends 151/3 (18.2 overs) |
- India Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: India Legends 4, West Indies Legends 0
Sri Lanka Legends 161/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Australia Legends 154 (19.5 overs) |
- Sri Lanka Legends won the toss and elected to bat.
- Points: Sri Lanka Legends 4, Australia Legends 0
Sri Lanka Legends 138/8 (20 overs) |
v |
India Legends 139/5 (18.4 overs) |
- India Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: India Legends 4, Sri Lanka Legends 0
West Indies Legends 143/8 (20 overs) |
v |
South Africa Legends 146/4 (18.3 overs) |
- South Africa Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: South Africa Legends 4, West Indies Legends 0
2021
Bangladesh Legends 109 (19.4 overs) |
v |
India Legends 114/0 (10.1 overs) |
Virender Sehwag 80* (35) |
- Bangladesh Legends won the toss and elected to bat.
- Points: India Legends 4, Bangladesh Legends 0
West Indies Legends 157/4 (20 overs) |
v |
Sri Lanka Legends 160/5 (19 overs) |
- Sri Lanka Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: Sri Lanka Legends 4, West Indies Legends 0
Bangladesh Legends 113/5 (20 overs) |
v |
England Legends 117/3 (14 overs) |
- England Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: England Legends 4, Bangladesh Legends 0
South Africa Legends 89 (18.5 overs) |
v |
Sri Lanka Legends 92/1 (13.2 overs) |
- Sri Lanka Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: Sri Lanka Legends 4, South Africa Legends 0
England Legends 188/7 (20 overs) |
v |
India Legends 182/7 (20 overs) |
- India Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: England Legends 4, India Legends 0
Sri Lanka Legends 180/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Bangladesh Legends 138/6 (20 overs) |
- Sri Lanka Legends won the toss and elected to bat.
- Points: Sri Lanka Legends 4, Bangladesh Legends 0
Sri Lanka Legends qualified for the semifinals.[17]
England Legends 121 (18.1 overs) |
v |
South Africa Legends 125/2 (13 overs) |
- South Africa Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: South Africa Legends 4, England Legends 0
Bangladesh Legends 169/7 (20 overs) |
v |
West Indies Legends 173/5 (18.5 overs) |
- West Indies Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: West Indies Legends 4, Bangladesh Legends 0
Bangladesh Legends were eliminated.[18]
India Legends 204/3 (20 overs) |
v |
South Africa Legends 148/7 (20 overs) |
- South Africa Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: India Legends 4, South Africa Legends 0
India Legends qualified for the semifinals.[19]
England Legends 78/9 (20 overs) |
v |
Sri Lanka Legends 81/4 (7.3 overs) |
- Sri Lanka Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: Sri Lanka Legends 4, England Legends 0
Bangladesh Legends 160/9 (20 overs) |
v |
South Africa Legends 161/0 (19.2 overs) |
Andrew Puttick 82* (54) |
- South Africa Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: South Africa Legends 4, Bangladesh Legends 0
South Africa Legends qualified for the semifinals.[20]
England Legends 186/3 (20 overs) |
v |
West Indies Legends 187/5 (20 overs) |
- West Indies Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: West Indies Legends 4, England Legends 0
West Indies Legends qualified for the semifinals and England Legends were eliminated.[21]
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.[22] 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.[23]
On 10 March 2021, Sri Lanka Legends became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals after beating Bangladesh Legends at Raipur.[17] 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.[19] The following day after, South Africa Legends became the third team to qualify after they beat Bangladesh Legends at Raipur on 15 March 2021.[20] 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.[24]
The first semi-final was played between India Legends and West Indies Legends at Raipur,[25] while the second semi-final was played between Sri Lanka Legends and South Africa Legends at the same venue again.[26]
- All times are according to IST (Indian Standard Time).
Bracket
| 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-final 1: India Legends v West Indies Legends
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.[27]
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.[28]
India Legends 218/3 (20 overs) |
v |
West Indies Legends 206/6 (20 overs) |
- West Indies Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- India Legends enter into the final.[28]
Semi-final 2: Sri Lanka Legends v South Africa 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.[29]
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.[30]
South Africa Legends 125 (20 overs) |
v |
Sri Lanka Legends 129/2 (17.2 overs) |
- Sri Lanka Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- Sri Lanka Legends enter into the final.[30]
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
| Pos. | Player & Team | Mat | Inns | Runs | HS | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka Legends) | 8 | 8 | 271 | 61* | 136.86 | 0 | 2 | 47 | 1 |
| 2 | Upul Tharanga (Sri Lanka Legends) | 6 | 6 | 237 | 99* | 133.89 | 0 | 2 | 31 | 5 |
| 3 | Sachin Tendulkar (India Legends) | 7 | 7 | 233 | 65 | 138.69 | 0 | 2 | 34 | 4 |
| 4 | Morné van Wyk (South Africa Legends) | 6 | 6 | 228 | 69* | 117.52 | 0 | 2 | 27 | 5 |
| 5 | Virender Sehwag (India Legends) | 7 | 7 | 214 | 80* | 153.95 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 7 |
| Source: ESPNcricinfo | ||||||||||
Most wickets
| Pos. | Player & Team | Mat | Inns | Runs | Wkts | BBI | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka Legends) | 8 | 8 | 163 | 12 | 4/6 | 13.58 |
| 2 | Yusuf Pathan (India Legends) | 5 | 5 | 124 | 9 | 3/28 | 12.33 |
| 3 | Munaf Patel (India Legends) | 7 | 7 | 197 | 9 | 4/19 | 21.88 |
| 4 | Monty Panesar (England Legends) | 6 | 6 | 158 | 8 | 4/26 | 12.25 |
| 5 | Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka Legends) | 7 | 7 | 127 | 8 | 2/5 | 15.87 |
| Source: ESPNcricinfo | |||||||
Broadcasting
Viacom 18 was the official broadcasting partner of the tournament. [31] Colors Cineplex & Rishtey Cineplex broadcast all the games of the tournament, and live streaming was available on Voot and Jio TV.[32]
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. 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".
- "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".
- "Tendulkar & Co. are back as Raipur gets ready to host the Unacademy Road Safety World Series T20".
- "Australia pull out, Bangladesh and England join Road Safety World Series T20 tournament". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- 'Sri Lanka Legends becomes the first team to qualify for Semi-finals'
- 'Bangladesh Legends eliminated from the tournament as West Indies Legends get their first win'
- '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 bow out from the tournament'
- 'Super Over rules'
- 'ICC changes Super Over rules'
- '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'
- Viacom18’s Colors Cineplex was broadcast partner of Road Safety World Series 10-18-2019
- "Road Safety World Series – Fixtures, Schedule, Squads, Broadcast & Live Streaming Details". Crictracker. Retrieved 7 March 2020.