De Villiers ton helps South Africa Champions win maiden WCL title

A blistering unbeaten ton from AB de Villiers helped the South Africa Champions to a convincing nine-wicket victory over the Pakistan Champions in the final of the World Championship of Legends at Edgbaston in Birmingham today.

Chasing a 196-run target, De Villiers smashed 120 off just 60 deliveries, laced with 12 boundaries and seven maximums, as the Proteas lifted their maiden trophy.

South Africa lost opener Hashim Amla (18 off 14) in the sixth over when the right-handed batter was caught off a Saeed Ajmal delivery, leaving the Proteas at 72 for one after six overs.

However, South Africa never looked to be in trouble after that, as De Villiers and JP Duminy (50* off 28) stitched together an unbroken 125-run second-wicket stand to take them over the line in just 16.5 overs.

Earlier in the game, Pakistan opener Sharjeel Khan smashed a 44-ball 76, while Umar Amin played a 19-ball 36-run cameo to help their side post 195 for five in 20 overs.

Pakistan Champions finished the group stage as the top team in the standings and were set for a semifinal against archrivals and defending champions India.

But just as in the group stage, Yuvraj Singh and Co. chose not to play the match against Pakistan due to ongoing tensions between the countries following the terror attack at Pahalgam. Thus, Pakistan qualified directly for the final after India's forfeit.

South Africa, meanwhile, had finished second and faced off against Australia in the semifinal. The Proteas got the better of their ICC rivals, edging past the Aussies by just one run.