2020–21 Road Safety World Series
 SVNS International Cricket stadium during Road Safety World Series 2020-21 in Raipur | |
| Dates | 7 March 2020 to 11 March 2020 – 5 March 2021 to 21 March 2021 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | The Road Safety Cell of Maharashtra |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Round robin and Knock-out |
| Host(s) |  India |
| Champions | India Legends |
| 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 |
The Road Safety World Series (also known as Unacademy Road Safety World Series for sponsorship reasons), or RSWS, was an Exhibition T20 cricket competition, which featured retired cricketers and was organised by the Road Safety Cell of Maharashtra to raise awareness about road safety.[1][2] The 2020–21 edition of the series featured notable retired 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 being its brand ambassador.[4] Ravi Gaikwad is the founder of the Road Safety World Series.[5]
Background[]
The Road Safety World Series was approved by the BCCI.[6] The first edition of the tournament began in March 2020, with the tournament set to take place across venues in Mumbai 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.[7] The tournament was to be played in a round-robin format with the top two finishers playing the final.[8]
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.[9] Soon, it was decided that the remaining seven matches of the tournament would be played behind closed doors in DY Patil Stadium;[10] 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.[11]
Venues[]
The 11 matches were initially scheduled to start on March 7, 2020, and played in stadiums across Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Pune, with the final supposed to be played on March 22, 2020, at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.[12]
| Venue | City | Country | Capacity | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wankhede Stadium | Mumbai | India | 33,108 | 2 |
| Brabourne Stadium | Mumbai | India | 50,000 | 1 (Final) |
| DY Patil Stadium | Navi Mumbai | India | 55,000 | 3 |
| Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium | Pune | India | 37,000 | 5 |
| Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium | Raipur | India | 65,000 | 15 (Semi-finals, Final) |
| Mumbai | Mumbai | Navi Mumbai | Pune |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wankhede Stadium | Brabourne Stadium | DY Patil Stadium | MCA Stadium |
| Capacity: 33,108 | Capacity: 50,000 | Capacity: 55,000 | Capacity: 37,000 |
|
|
|
|
In 2021, with the arrival of COVID-19 vaccine, the remaining tournament was held at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, in Raipur.[13]
| Raipur |
|---|
| Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium |
| Capacity: 65,000 |
|
Format[]
The tournament was played in a round-robin format with the top four finishers in the Points Table to play the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals played against each other in the final. Teams were awarded 4 points for a win, 2 for a no-result and none for a loss.
Squads[]
Originally, a total of 110 retired cricket players agreed to participate in the tournament.[14] The tournament resumed in 2021 with England Legends and Bangladesh Legends replacing the Brett Lee-led Australia Legends, who withdrew from the tournament due to their inability to travel in India owing to the strict COVID-19 restrictions in Australia.
Initially in 2020, Abey Kuruvilla was named in the India Legends squad, but due to an injured shoulder, he was replaced by Noel David. Subramaniam Badrinath, Naman Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, Vinay Kumar, and Rajesh Pawar were added to the India Legends squad for the year 2021.[15] They replaced Zaheer Khan, Sameer Dighe, Sanjay Bangar, and Sairaj Bahutule, who were part of the squad initially in 2020.
Sanath Jayasuriya, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dhammika Prasad, Upul Tharanga, Russel Arnold, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath and Chinthaka Jayasinghe were added to Sri Lanka Legends squad for the year 2021.[15] They replaced Marvan Atapattu, Malinda Warnapura, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sachithra Senanayake, Upul Chandana and Romesh Kaluwitharana, who were part of the squad initially in 2020.
Makhaya Ntini, Justin Kemp, Alviro Petersen, Mornantau Hayward, Andrew Puttick, Thandi Tshabalala, Loots Bosman, Zander de Bruyn and Monde Zondeki were added to the South Africa Legends squad for the year 2021.[15] They replaced Jacques Rudolph, Herschelle Gibbs, Martin van Jaarsveld, Lance Klusener, Ryan McLaren, Johan van der Wath, Albie Morkel, Paul Harris, and Andrew Hall, who were part of the squad initially in 2020.
Narsingh Deonarine, Dwayne Smith, Ryan Austin, William Perkins, and Mahendra Nagamootoo were added to the West Indies Legends squad for the year 2021.[15] They replaced Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Darren Ganga, Ricardo Powell, Samuel Badree, and Danza Hyatt, who were part of the squad initially in 2020.
| India Legends
|
Sri Lanka Legends
|
 South Africa Legends
|
 West Indies Legends
|
 England Legends
|
 Bangladesh Legends
|
 Australia Legends [a]
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
* Players who were initially part of the squad in 2020.
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
- Australia Legends played 1 match against Sri Lanka Legends and forfeited their remaining matches as they could not travel to India due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Tie-break criteria[]
- Number of wins.
- Head to head results. If this is not applicable, positions decided by NRR.
- If three or more teams are tied on points and the number of wins, positions decided by NRR.
League stage[]
All times are according to Indian Standard Time (IST).
West Indies Legends
150/8 (20 overs) |
v
|
India Legends 151/3 (18.2 overs) |
- India Legends won the toss and elected to field.
Sri Lanka Legends
161/8 (20 overs) |
v
|
Australia Legends 154 (19.5 overs) |
- Sri Lanka Legends won the toss and elected to bat.
Sri Lanka Legends
138/8 (20 overs) |
v
|
India Legends 139/5 (18.4 overs) |
- India Legends won the toss and elected to field.
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.
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.
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.
Bangladesh Legends
113/5 (20 overs) |
v
|
England Legends 117/3 (14 overs) |
- England Legends won the toss and elected to field.
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.
England Legends
188/7 (20 overs) |
v
|
India Legends 182/7 (20 overs) |
- India Legends won the toss and elected to field.
Sri Lanka Legends
180/6 (20 overs) |
v
|
Bangladesh Legends 138/6 (20 overs) |
- Sri Lanka Legends won the toss and elected to bat.
- Sri Lanka Legends qualified for the semifinals.[16]
England Legends
121 (18.1 overs) |
v
|
South Africa Legends 125/2 (13 overs) |
- South Africa Legends won the toss and elected to field.
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.
- Bangladesh Legends were eliminated.[17]
India Legends
204/3 (20 overs) |
v
|
South Africa Legends 148/7 (20 overs) |
- South Africa Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- India Legends qualified for the semifinals.[18]
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.
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.
- South Africa Legends qualified for the semifinals.[19]
England Legends
186/3 (20 overs) |
v
|
West Indies Legends 187/5 (20 overs) |
- West Indies Legends won the toss and elected to field.
- West Indies Legends qualified for the semifinals and England Legends were eliminated.[20]
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.[21] 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.[22]
On 10 March 2021, Sri Lanka Legends became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals after beating Bangladesh Legends at Raipur.[23] 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.[24] The following day after, South Africa Legends became the third team to qualify after they beat Bangladesh Legends at Raipur on 15 March 2021.[25] 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.[26]
The first semi-final was played between India Legends and West Indies Legends at Raipur,[27] while the second semi-final was played between Sri Lanka Legends and South Africa Legends at the same venue again.[28]
- 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-finals[]
Semi-final 1: India Legends vs 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.[29]
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.[30]
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 finals.[31]
Semi-final 2: Sri Lanka Legends vs 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.[32]
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.[33]
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 finals to face India Legends.[34]
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 | |||||||
Live Streaming and Broadcasting[]
Viacom 18 was the official broadcasting partner of the tournament. [35] Colors Cineplex & Rishtey Cineplex broadcast all the games of the tournament, and live streaming was available on Voot and Jio TV.[36][37]
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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ [1] 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".
- ^ "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".
- ^ Road Safety World Series players 02-21-2020
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Yusuf Pathan, Sanath Jayasuriya add spice to Legends battle".
- ^ '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'
- ^ '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'
- ^ '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'
- ^ '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.
- ^ "Road Safety World Series – Live Stream & Highlights on Voot".
- Road safety campaigns
- Twenty20 cricket matches
- Sports events curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic