GT20 Canada: How did the international players fare in Surrey Jaguars vs Vancouver Knights, Qualifier 1?

The Qualifier 1 match of the 2023 GT20 Canada kicked off on August 4 between Surrey Jaguars and Vancouver Knights at Brampton. It was certainly a day where the bowlers from both sides had a lot of say in dictating the proceedings.

Surrey Jaguars ultimately emerged victorious thanks to their brilliant bowling effort and have now booked their place in the finals. Vancouver Knights live to fight another day and will take on Montreal Tigers in a do-or-die contest on August 5.

Jaguars started decently with the bat as their top 3 chipped in with some useful runs. However, the Knights’ bowlers made a comeback during the halfway stage of the game by taking some quick wickets. Iftikhar Ahmed and Ayaan Khan got into the recovery act and staged a crucial match-defining partnership to steer the Jaguars to a decent first-innings total of 139.

Then, Jaguars’ bowlers were relentless as they ran through the Vancouver batting lineup in a flash, reducing them to 31-4 inside six overs. With no visible partnerships in the middle apart from Najibullah Zadran and Fabian Allen, the Vancouver Knights were eventually bundled out for just 101.

Matthew Forde was adjudged player of the match for his breathtaking spell of 4/16 which completely broke the back of the Knights’ batting lineup.

With the first qualifier match officially coming to a close, here is a quick snapshot of how the international players performed in today’s fixture.

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Mohammad Haris (SUJ)

Haris scored some handy runs at the top of the order and dominated the proceedings with his free-flowing shots. He was the first Surrey Jaguars’ batter to be dismissed when his side had 34 runs on the board. He scored 20 (15) which included three fours and a six. Junaid Siddique was the man who got rid of him during the last ball of the fourth over.

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Jatinder Singh (SUJ)

Jantinder looked poised to play the big innings but was unable to kick on further. He scored 15 (13) which involved 3 boundaries. Ruben Trumpelmann was the man who dismissed him during the 6th over of the first innings.

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Litton Das (SUJ)

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The Bangladeshi wicketkeeper-batsman was very lackluster with the bat and could only score 16 runs off 19 balls. Karthik Meiyappan dismissed him during the halfway stage of the first innings. However, he had a fine day behind the stumps and took a fine catch off the bowling of Matthew Forde to effect the dismissal of Mohammad Rizwan.

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Iftikhar Ahmed (SUJ)

The skipper Iftikhar did the bulk of the scoring at a time when the chips were down. He built a fighting 43-run stand for the fifth wicket with Ayaan Khan to drag Surrey Jaguars to a respectable total. He scored 36 (28) which involved two fours and as many sixes and was eventually dismissed by Karthik Meiyappan during the 18th over of the first innings.

In the second innings, he could only bowl one solitary over, which cost him just 6 runs.

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Ayaan Khan (SUJ)

Both Ayaan and Iftikhar batted out of their skins to hold the Surrey Jaguars’ innings together. Ayaan batted sensibly for his 29 (20) and smashed three fours and a six in his entire innings. His stay came to an end when Junaid Siddique cleaned him up with an absolute jaffa during the 16th over of the first innings.

He bowled just one over and leaked just two runs and picked up a prize wicket of Harsh Thaker.

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Sandeep Lamichhane (SUJ)

Sandeep could only score 4 (6) at the backend and was removed by Junaid Siddique in the last over of the first innings. However, he did have a crucial role to play with the ball as he returned with impressive figures of 1/15 in his three overs. He bowled 12 dots and conceded just 1 boundary and a six and also picked up a key wicket of Ravinderpal Singh.

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Mohammad Rizwan (VK)

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Rizwan had a forgettable day with the bat as he perished for just 4 (4) inside the first 2 overs of the Vancouver Knights’ innings. Matthew Forde was the man who dismissed him during the early stage of the first innings.

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Rassie van der Dussen (VK)

Rassie could not get going with the bat either as he scored just 6 (11). Matthew Forde turned out to be the man once again who dismissed him cheaply during the 5th over of the second innings.

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Najibullah Zadran (VK)

Najibullah partnered with Fabian and tried to resurrect the chase for the Vancouver Knights. But his efforts went in vain. He emerged as the second-highest run-scorer for Vancouver Knights scoring 15 (17) which included a four and a six. He was eventually dismissed by Dillon Heyliger during the halfway stage of the second innings.

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Fabian Allen (VK)

Fabian bowled three overs upfront which cost him 23 runs while he returned wicketless. However, he did show some intent with the bat in the second innings. He did the bulk of the heavy lifting in a losing cause and notched up a fine cameo of 27 (20) which included two fours and as many sixes. Matthew Forde put an end to his stay by removing him during the 17th over of the second innings.

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Ruben Trumpelmann (VK)

Trumpelmann was highly effective with the ball once again and returned with formidable figures of 2/26. He went for just under 7 RPO and picked up two key wickets of Matthew Forde and Jatinder Singh. He came in to bat later in the second innings and scored a run-a-ball 11 before being dismissed by Ammar Khalid during the 16th over of the second innings.

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Junaid Siddique (VK)

Junaid was the pick of the bowlers for the Vancouver Knights. He inflicted the most amount of damage by picking up 4 wickets for just 22 runs, while bowling 12 dots. He was later dismissed for a golden duck by Matthew Forde which brought about an end to Vancouver’s chase.

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Karthik Meiyappan (VK)

Karthik erred slightly on the higher side going at 8 RPO but did manage to pick up prize wickets of Litton Das and Iftikhar Ahmed during crucial junctures of the game. He bowled nine dots and conceded three sixes in his three-over spell.

Note: Domestic players playing for Canadian Cricket Team have not been featured in the article