GT20 Canada: How did the international players fare in Toronto Nationals vs Montreal Tigers, Match 17?

The 17th match of the 2023 GT20 Canada kicked off on July 30 between Toronto Nationals and Montreal Tigers at CAA Centre in Brampton. It was a day that was marred by multiple rain interruptions.

The first game of the day between Brampton Wolves and Mississauga Panthers was abandoned without a ball being bowled. However, we did get to see some action in the second T20 match of the day which was reduced to 6 overs per side.

Although it may have been a severely shortened game, there were some scintillating fireworks on display. Muhammad Waseem and Chris Lynn took off as Montreal Tigers got off to an electrifying start. Bowlers had a very hard time containing the flow of runs as they took some severe beating while the duo was batting. Montreal Kings eventually ended their innings on a high with 77 runs on the board after 6 overs.

Requiring 78 to win at 13 RPO, Toronto Nationals openers Darren Bravo and JJ Smit could not hit the ground running, unlike the Montreal openers. The duo consumed a lot of dot balls at the start which pushed the required run rate to unimaginable proportions. They were forced to retire out due to their lackluster show with the bat but by that time, it was already too late. The Tigers bowlers’ were able to keep it tight and in the end, completing a resounding victory by 23 runs.

Here is a quick snapshot of how the international players performed in today’s fixture.

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Muhammad Waseem (MT)

Waseem played a brief, yet explosive knock of 24 (13) which involved 1 four and 2 sixes. Considering the shortened length of the game, Waseem was smashing it right from the get-go and did not allow the bowlers to settle down. He was dismissed by Faheem Ashraf during the 5th of the first innings when his side had 63 runs on the board.

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Chris Lynn (MT)

Lynn was Waseem’s partner in crime at the other end who also played a blistering innings at a killer strike rate of 211.11. Lynn took on the Toronto Nationals’ bowlers and notched up 38 runs in 18 balls. He stayed unbeaten at the end to ensure that Montreal had enough runs to defend.

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Sherfane Rutherford (MT)

In the grand scheme of things, Rutherford appeared very off-color with the bat and could only post a paltry score of 7 (5) before being run out by Hamza Tariq on the last ball of the first innings.

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Andre Russell (MT)

Russell did not get a chance to bat in the game, but he did get a chance to bowl. He was very economical in his 2 overs spell conceding only 15 runs at 7.5 RPO while going wicketless.

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Dipendra Singh Airee (MT)

Airee did not get a chance to bat and ball in the game.

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Akif Raja (MT)

Akif did not get a chance to bat in the game, but he did get a chance to bowl. He could only bowl a solitary over which cost him and his side 12 runs while returning wicketless.

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Carlos Brathwaite (MT)

Brathwaite did not have a go with the bat but managed to bowl one over which went for plenty. He conceded 14 runs in one over while going wicketless.

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Darren Bravo (TN)

Trinbago Knight Riders v Guyana Amazon Warriors - 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL)

Darren Bravo failed to get Toronto off to a flyer and played a very sedated innings of 15 (15) before getting retired out on the last ball of the 4th over.

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JJ Smit (TN)

Smit too faced a similar fate as his lackluster innings of 16 (9) proved detrimental for Toronto Nationals as they fell way short of their required target. He was forced to retire out during the 2nd ball of the 5th over.

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Sikandar Raza (TN)

Pakistan v Zimbabwe - ICC Men's T20 World Cup

Raza bowled a one-off over, which went for 18 runs, and failed to pick up a wicket. He came into bat when the required rate was way beyond their reach and stayed unbeaten at 7* (6).

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Gerhard Erasmus (TN)

Erasmus did not get a chance to bat and ball in the game.

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Fazalhaq Farooqi (TN)

Farooqi bowled a very tight one-over spell of 0/8. Although he did not pick up a wicket, he maintained a tight lid on the scoring rate which ultimately squeezed the life of the Toronto batters.

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Zaman Khan (TN)

Zaman Khan proved to be on the higher side going at almost 10 RPO. In his 2-over spell, he leaked 19 runs which included 1 wide while returning wicketless.

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Faheem Ashraf (TN)

Ashraf was the sole wicket-taker for Toronto Nationals. He bowled one over which cost him 13 runs but managed to pick up the important wicket of Waseem thus bringing an end to his relentless onslaught.

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