GT20 Canada: How did the international players fare in Toronto Nationals vs Vancouver Knights, Match 21?

The 21st match of the 2023 GT20 Canada between Toronto Nationals and Vancouver Knights was held on Wednesday, August 2 at CAA Centre in Brampton. The match featured a rather one-sided clash, with the Nationals getting bundled out cheaply during their chase of a modest target of 129.

Vancouver Knights did not get the brightest of starts as they lost their opener very early with just five runs on the board. Mohammad Rizwan, Corbin Bosch, and Najibullah Zadran steered the Knights through the middle overs. Sikandar Raza and Shahid Afridi then got into the act and chipped in with a few more wickets to derail Vancouver Knights. But a brief cameo from Harsh Thaker helped the Knights sail past the 125-run mark.

In response, the top three of the Toronto Nationals' batting lineup did the bulk of the scoring and were looking well on course for the win until the fifth over. However, Corbin Bosch and Harsh Thaker bowled devastating spells, sharing seven wickets between them, which completely broke the back of the Toronto Nationals’ batting lineup. The team was unable to regroup following a quick flurry of wickets and was soon bundled out for just 103 inside 16 overs.

With the match officially done and dusted, here is a quick snapshot of how the international players performed in the match.

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Fakhar Zaman (VK)

Fakhar Zaman had a very short stay at the crease in the match. He was the first Vancouver Knights batter to be dismissed - during the second over of the first innings. He could score only 4 (7) before being dismissed by his fellow countryman Faheem Ashraf.

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Mohammad Rizwan (VK)

Rizwan scored a sensible run-a-ball 27, which helped Vancouver Knights stay afloat till the halfway stage of the game. His stay came to an end when Shahid Afridi got the better of him during the 11th over.

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Rassie van der Dussen (VK)

Rassie put up a poor show with the bat as he could only score 2 (6) before being dismissed by Shahid Afridi off the last ball of the 13th over. But he managed to have the final laugh during the sixth over of the second innings, taking a neat catch off Bosch’s bowling to dismiss Afridi cheaply.

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Najibullah Zadran (VK)

Najibullah played a decent cameo but would have certainly loved to pile up some additional runs. He scored 18 (15), which included a four and a six. He was trapped in front of the stumps by Sikandar Raza during the 14th over of the game.

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Ruben Trumpelmann (VK)

Trumpelmann played a minor contribution with the bat, scoring just 1(2) before being run out by Hamza Tariq during the final stages of the first innings. However, he was once again impeccable with the ball, returning with outstanding figures of 1/17. In his spell of three overs, Trumpelmann only conceded two boundaries.

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Junaid Siddique (VK)

Junaid stayed unbeaten at the end of the first innings at 2(5). He bowled a fine spell of 2/30 in his allotted four overs and accounted for key wickets of Gerhard Erasmus and Sikandar Raza.

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Karthik Meiyappan (VK)

Karthik did not get a chance to bat or bowl in the match.

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Darren Bravo (TN)

Darren Bravo emerged as the highest run scorer for Toronto Nationals scoring 28 (26). He smashed two sixes in his innings. Bravo tried to hold the innings together but as soon as he was dismissed, Toronto Nationals went downhill in their chase. Harsh Thakar was the man who dismissed him during the 14th over of the second innings.

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Gerhard Erasmus (TN)

The Namibian spin-bowling all-rounder made a paltry contribution with the bat scoring 2 (3). He was dismissed by Junaid Siddique during the fifth over of the second innings.

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Sikandar Raza (TN)

The spin-bowling all-rounder from Zimbabwe had a great outing with the ball, returning figures of 2/15 from his three overs. He picked up the prized scalps of Najibullah Zadran and Rayyan Pathan and went at an economy of only five while conceding just one six and a four apiece.

But the same can’t be said about his batting as he was dismissed by Junaid Siddique for a golden duck.

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Shahid Afridi (TN)

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The former Pakistani legend bowled a tight spell of 2/16 in his allotted four overs, going at just 4 RPO. He bowled 13 dots in his spell and conceded just one four while picking up the prized wickets of Mohammad Rizwan and Rassie van der Dussen. However, he turned out to be very lackluster with the bat scoring just 1(2) before getting dismissed by Corbin Bosh in the sixth over of the second innings.

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Faheem Ashraf (TN)

Ashraf bowled brilliantly with the new ball and accounted for the prized wicket of Fakhar Zaman during the second over of the match. However, he did manage to give away a few runs in the back end of his spell. In his three overs, he conceded 23 runs at an economy of 7.66 RPO, including two fours and a six.

He too was dismissed cheaply by Corbin Bosch for 7(13) during the 12th over of the second innings.

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Zaman Khan (TN)

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Zaman bowled his heart out and conceded 27 runs in his four-over spell while returning wicketless. He bowled 13 dots in his entire spell and conceded four boundaries. The 21-year-old did play some lusty blows at the fag end of the innings scoring 14 (9) before being dismissed by Corbin Bosch.

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