Cricket lovers of Brampton had an exciting start to their weekend as they witnessed some absorbing struggle between bat and ball at the CAA Cricket ground on Saturday.
Incidentally, honours were evenly shared by both bat and ball though spectators enjoyed every bit of this phenomenal contest.
The action-packed day 3 of the third edition of Global T20 Canada had the fans asking for more and more as the games progressed before a nearly full makeshift tented stadium.
Hopefully, Brampton, says its Mayor Patrick Brown, will have Canada’s first cricket stadium soon.
Vancouver Knight stole the limelight in the first game and then Brampton Wolves snatched a nail-biting finish to delight the crowds with a double dose of entertainment.
Like the Brampton Wolves-Toronto Nationals game, the first encounter of the day had a last-ball finish as Vancouver Knights defeated Mississauga Panthers by five wickets.
After winning the toss, Vancouver Knights asked Mississauga Panthers to bat first. Interestingly, the team winning the toss in the games today, opted to field first.
Early in the innings, the Knights’ bowling exerted great pressure on the Panthers. At the end of the Powerplay, the Panthers were in hot water at 29/3 with the first ball dismissal of Tom Cooper (0), followed by Navneet Dhaliwal (7) and Jaskaran Singh (1).
However, ‘Universe Boss’ and sporting jersey number 333, Chris Gayle (61), who came out to open, took on the onus of anchoring the innings and supporting Azam Khan (64) who walked out to bat at number six. Both the players unleashed an unrelenting assault with 11 boundaries in 35 balls to help the Panthers finish at 158/6.
In response, the Knights’ blazed through the target. Fakhar Zaman (23) steadied the chase despite the early departure of Vriitya Aravind (4). Harsh Thaker (75) and Rassie Van Der Dussen (31) put on a crucial partnership, supported by Corbin Bosch (11), Ravinderpal Singh (2), and Fabian Allen (3) as the Knights crossed the finishing line on the last ball of the match with five wickets to spare.
Sunday fixtures:
Mississauga Panthers play Montreal Tigers and Brampton Wolves take on Surrey Jaguars; CAA Cricket Ground