The final day of the league phase of Global T20 Canada saw the Surrey Jaguars down the Mississauga Panthers to secure the top berth on the points table.
The Jaguars chased down their target with ease after they bundled out the Panthers for a meagre score of 56, powered by great spells from Sandeep Lamichhane, Matthew Forde and Iftikhar Ahmed. In the second match of the day, the Vancouver Knights defeated the Toronto Nationals by 25 runs, catapulting themselves into the second position on the point table.
Their victory was spearheaded by the crafty bowling of Harsh Thakker and Corbin Bosch. With the day’s results, Surrey Jaguars, Vancouver Knights, Montreal Tigers and Brampton Wolves secure the top four positions to find themselves in the playoffs.
The Mississauga Panthers were asked to bat first after the Surrey Jaguars won the toss. The Panthers had a lackluster start, with the early dismissals of Mihir Patel (0), along with Cameron Delport (4) and Shreyas Movva (17), who were scalped in quick succession by Matthew Forde.
At the end of powerplay, the innings was in trouble at 30/3. However, the innings further disintegrated between the sixth and ninth over, where the Panthers lost four wickets and only scored four runs.
Left arm spinner, Ayaan Khan flummoxed Shoaib Malik (5), and leggie, Sandeep Lamichhane dismissed the dangerous Azam Khan (2) and Tom Cooper (0) in quick succession. Nikhil Dutta (10) made a vital contribution but was sent back to the pavilion by Iftikhar Ahmed.
James Neesham (9*) stuck around to the end but the Panthers eventually bundled out for a low total of 56, with Sandeep Lamichhane and Iftikhar Ahmed mopping up the tail. Mohammad Haris (37*) anchored the comfortable run chase for the Jaguars with an unbeaten innings.
Haris cracked boundaries at will, rapidly chipping away at the paltry target. Jatinder Singh (2) and Litton Das (10) departed in the powerplay, but Iftikhar Ahmed (8) joined Mohammad Haris to ensure the Jaguars reached their target with ease, winning with eight wickets and eleven overs remaining.
The Toronto Nationals elected to field first. The Knights lost an early wicket when Fakhar Zaman was dismissed by Faheem Ashraf. At the end of the powerplay the Knights were 49/1 as Mohammad Rizwan (27) extended his purple patch along with Corbin Bosch (30), putting together yet another good partnership of 62 runs.
The innings staggered when Shahid Afridi secured the crucial wickets of Rizwan and Rassie Van Der Dussen (2). Najibullah Zadran (15) looked menacing but departed in the fourteenth over. Harsh Thaker played an unbeaten cameo and with a contribution from Riyaan Pathan (10) in the death overs, the Knights finished at 128/7.
With the Toronto Nationals needing to chase their target in 18.3 overs to secure a playoff position, they responded in full throttle. Nicholas Kirton (19) found himself three boundaries in the first over. However, the pursuit of a high run rate proved costly as the top order collapsed within the powerplay.
Spinner, Harsh Thaker bagged Kirton and Hamza Tariq (14) in the fourth over, while Junaid Siddique dismissed Gerhard Erasmus (3) and Sikandar Raza (0) in the fifth over. Soon after Shahid Afridi (1) was also dismissed after he miscued a shot of Corbin Bosch. At the end of the powerplay the Nationals were in hot water at 45/5.
Darren Bravo (28), who came in at number three, tried to steward the innings, even striking two consecutive sixes of Harsh Thaker before perishing in the same over as the pressure continued to mount and the wickets continued to fall around him. Zaman Khan (14) threatened to pull off a heist, with a couple of boundaries, but the Nationals were bowled out for 103 in 15.5 overs, resulting in a 25-run victory for the Vancouver Knights.
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