Photo courtesy: IANS
Following a thrilling last-ball triumph over the Surrey Jaguars, the Montreal Tigers were crowned the winners of Season Three of Global T20 Canada in front of a packed house at the TD Cricket Arena.With five wickets in hand, the Montreal Tigers successfully batted down the required 131 runs. The Montreal Tigers won the game after Sherfane Rutherford (38*) and Andre Russell (20*) stitched a match-winning partnership of 29 runs in just twelve balls. Jatinder Singh’s (56*) half-century and Iftikhar Ahmed’s (2/8) deft spell kept the Jaguars in the game until the very last delivery.
The toss was won by the Montreal Tigers, who elected to field first. Mohammad Haris (23) and Jatinder Singh (56*), the Surrey Jaguars’ first two players, made cautious starts, and by the end of the powerplay, they were 35-0. With an undefeated half century, Jatinder Singh served as the innings’ centrepiece. In the sixth over, A. Afzal Khan caught a well-rested Mohammad Haris (23) to give the Tigers their first victory.
Jatinder Singh was joined by Litton Das (12), who continued to rotate the strike and reduce risks. The Jaguars had a score of 58/1 after ten overs. Soon after, in the eleventh over, A.Afzal Khan dismissed Litton Das (12). In an effort to advance the score, captain Iftikhar Ahmed (9) lost his wicket to Carlos Brathwaite’s low full toss. Ayaan Khan (26), who came on for the Jaguars, played a crucial quick fire knock in the final overs in just 15 deliveries before being dismissed by Abbas Afridi.
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With only 7 runs allowed in his final over and the wicket of Matthew Forde (1), Andre Russell bowled a superb over. The Surrey Jaguars had a respectable final score of 130/5.
The Montreal Tigers’ reply got off to a turbulent start. Muhammad Waseem (0) was bowled by a ripper from Spencer Johnson after a missed catch. The Tigers were positioned at 35/1 at the conclusion of the powerplay. At three, Srimantha Wijeyeratne (12) struggled to capitalise on his start, but opener Chris Lynn (31) played brilliantly and made a significant contribution before being bowled by Iftikhar Ahmed in the eleventh over.
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Iftikhar Ahmed took out Dilpreet Singh (15), who was also getting his eye in, in the same over to shift the tide back in the Jaguars’ advantage. The Montreal Tigers needed 53 runs with five overs remaining and six wickets in hand. Iftikhar Ahmed, who gave up just one run in the sixteenth over, made it difficult for Sherfane Rutherford (38) and Dipendra Singh (16) to score runs. With a six and a four, Rutherford destroyed Matthew Forde in the eighteenth over to reduce the required total to 25 runs off of 12 balls. In order to bring out the potentially dangerous Andre Russell (20), Dipendra Singh retired. Russell and Rutherford’s partnership scored 12 runs off Spencer Johnson’s penultimate over. Ammar Khalid, a pacer, was unable to stop Andre Russell when the Montreal Tigers needed two runs off the final ball. Russell hit his second maximum of the over to win the trophy for his team. The Montreal Tigers scored 135/5 in the end.
Brief Scores:
Surrey Jaguars – 130/5 (Jatinder Singh – 56 runs in 57 balls, Mohammad Haris – 23 runs in 22 balls, Ayaan Khan – 26 runs in 15 balls, Ayaan Afzal Khan – 2/21, Andre Russell – 1/24, Abbas Afridi – 1/31)
Montreal Tigers – 135/5 ( Sherfane Rutherford – 38* runs in 29 balls, Chris Lynn – 31 runs in 35 balls, Andre Russell – 20* runs in 6 balls, Iftikhar Ahmed – 2/8, Ayaan Khan – 1/12, Spencer Johnson – 1/31)
Tigers won by 5 wickets
-IANS
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