'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
It was the final of the first edition of the Global T20 Canada and it turned out to be a pretty one-sided affair. The Chris Gayle-led Vancouver Knights chased down 146 with ease and with 15 balls to spare as the young Windies side who played excellent cricket throughout the tournament were left heartbroken.
Gayle won the toss and decided to field first. Sheldon Cottrell set the tone upfront as he got dismissed both the openers in his first spell. It was then the spinners who not only put the brakes on the scoring rate but also kept picking wickets. Fawad Ahmed and Saad Bin Zafar shared 5 wickets between them as they broke the middle-order of the CWIB.
Fabian Allen’s struck a fine 23-ball 41 and his efforts helped CWIB get to 145 as they failed to bat out the 20 overs. It wasn’t a big score but the Windies had the runs on the board in the big final.
Chasing a little more than 7 runs per over, the Knights had a disastrous start as they lost their top three inside 4 overs. But Saad Bin Zafar scored an unbeaten 79 and Rassie van der Dussen supported him well and made an unbeaten 44 to drive the Knights to the Global T20 title.
#5. Sheldon Cottrell starts and finishes the innings
Sheldon Cottrell has had a wonderful tournament. Except for the first game where he was smashed all around the ground, he has stood up and delivered for the Knights in almost every single game. He has taken wickets at the start and at the back end as well.
In the big final, it was Cottrell who set the tone for the Knights as he picked up two wickets in his first spell sending back both the openers back to the dressing room. He first went through Shamar Springer’s defences and then had Justin Greaves caught at short third-man.
The left-arm pacer then came back and finished of the innings as he picked up the last two wickets. He got both Derval Green and Jeremiah Louis in identical fashion as Cottrell foxed both with a slower one and had them caught at long-on. He finished with figures of 4/29 and also climbed to the top of the wicket-takers list in this tournament.
#4. Trail by spin
9-0-64-6. These are the combined figures of the three VCK spinners in the final. Fawad Ahmed and Saad Bin Zafar were excellent as they tied the batsman down and also kept chipping away with wickets. The duo shared 5 wickets between them.
Zafar picked up the key wickets of Brandan King and Fabian Allen while Fawad Ahmed ripped through the middle-order. Ahmed first cleaned up Nicholas Pooran with a wrong’un in his first over and then in his last two overs, he got the wickets of Anthony Bramble and Kavem Hodge.
Steve Jacobs who bowled just one over and conceded two sixes on his first two deliveries picked up the wicket of last game’s hero Sherfane Rutherford. Zafar finished with 2/26 while Ahmed had figures of 3/24 and Jacobs took 1/14 in the one over he bowled.
#3. Fabian Allen’s 43 drags CWIB to 145 but they fail to bat out the 20 overs
CWIB just kept losing wickets at regular intervals. They lost their top three in the powerplay and then Sherfane Rutherford and Nicholas Pooran were dismissed in back-to-back overs. Skipper Anthony Bramble was out in the 12th over and CWIB were reeling at 87/6.
Fabian Allen then came in and dragged the Windies to a respectable total. He walked in and struck a couple of sixes in consecutive overs before he fetched 30 runs in two overs (off Andre Russell and Sheldon Cottrell). However, the 23-year-old all-rounder fell trying to score as many as possible and holed out at long-off. But it was a fine innings as it gave the CWIB bowlers something to bowl at. In his 23-ball 41, Allen struck three fours and three sixes.
However, the Windies side failed to bat out the 20 overs and were bowled out in the 18th over. 14 deliveries were wasted and in a big final, it made the difference.
#2. Disastrous start for the Knights
The only way CWIB could’ve defended 145 was by picking early wickets, otherwise, the likes of Chadwick Walton, Chris Gayle and Ben Dunk would’ve strolled through the chase. The young Windies side got the early breakthroughs and it surely sent some jitters in the Vancouver Knights’ camp.
Walton smashed the first ball of the innings to the cover boundary but was out next ball as he tried to go over the top. Jeremiah Louis drew first blood for CWIB. Derval Green then picked up two wickets in two overs as he got the wickets of Chris Gayle and Ben Dunk. Gayle was out caught at mid-on where Justin Greaves plucked out a stunning catch while Dunk was out caught at point.
None of the top three got going as the Knights were reduced to 22/3 and the Windies were surely back in the game.
#1. Saad Bin Zafar’s all-round show powers the Knights to the title
Saad Bin Zafar had batted in just two games in this tournament. He had an unbeaten 12 and a 1 to his name. But in the final, he stepped up and delivered. After picking up 2/26 with the ball, Zafar scored 79 in 48 balls to drive the Knights to the Global T20 title.
He walked in when the Knights were 22/3 in the 4th over. Along with Rassie van der Dussen, he resurrected the chase and got it back on track. Both tried to rotate the strike and score the odd boundary. Zafar scored 23 off his first 21 balls and had scored one boundary.
But the 10th over was the momentum shifter as he hit two fours and a six to get going. He then raised his fifty in 32 balls and became the second Canadian player to score a half-century in this tournament. After that, he wiped off the chase as he finished with an unbeaten 79 and capped off an excellent day. He was the man of the match for his all-round performance as the Chris Gayle-led Vancouver Knights became the inaugural champions.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
