The Montreal Tigers, represented by Nepali player Dipendra Airee, won the Global T20 Canada title for the first time. They defeated the Surrey Jaguars in a thrilling final, and in addition to the title, they also won a prize of 300,000 Canadian dollars.
Andre Russell hit a six off the last ball to win the match for the Tigers.
The Tigers were chasing a target of 131 runs set by Surrey, and they were in trouble at 61-4. However, Sherfane Rutherford and Dipendra Airee shared a 45-run partnership to get the Tigers back on track.
Dipendra Airee Retired Out : Dipendra Airee was retired out after scoring 16 runs off 17 balls. He had been batting slowly, scoring only 5 runs in his first 11 balls, but he hit a boundary in the twelfth ball he faced. Commentators had suggested that Andre Russell should be sent in to bat instead of Airee, and Montreal eventually made the same decision at the end of the eighteenth over. This decision caused some controversy on the field, but it was ultimately allowed under the rules of the competition.
Tigers needed 25 runs in the last 2 overs to win the match the Tigers were in a precarious position.
In the 19th over, Andre Russell hit Spencer Johnson for a boundary on the first ball, and then hit a six on the third ball to give Montreal 12 runs in the over.
With 13 runs needed to win the match in the last over, Andre Russell hit a six off the second ball of Ammar Khalid’s over. Two runs were then needed off the last ball, which Russell hit for another six to win the match for Montreal.
Andre Russell scored 20 runs off 6 balls, including a four and two sixes. Sherfane Rutherford, who was named player of the match, scored 38 runs off 29 balls, including three fours and two sixes.
Sandeep bowled only 3 overs in the final, conceding 20 runs and taking no wickets. He was not given the ball in the fourth over, despite bowling well in his first three overs.
Sandeep started bowling in the eighth over, and conceded 4 runs in his first over. He then conceded 9 runs in his second over, with Dilpreet Singh hitting him for a boundary off the last ball. In his third over, Sandeep conceded 7 runs, with the last ball hitting the inside edge of Rutherford’s bat and running behind the wicket.
Surrey’s decision to not give the ball to Sandeep in the fourth over, when Rutherford was struggling to face him, may have been a factor in their loss. In the last over, Ammar Khalid, who had just bowled one over and conceded 11 runs, was given the ball. He conceded 13 runs, including a six to Rutherford, which gave Montreal the winning runs.
Captain Iftikhar Ahmed took 2 wickets with just 8 runs in 4 overs and Spencer Johnson and Ayaan Khan took 1 wicket each.
Earlier: Surrey, who lost the toss and batted first, scored 130 runs for 5 wickets in 20 overs.
Jatinder Singh scored an unbeaten 56, while Ayaan Khan and Mohammad Haris scored 26 and 23 runs respectively. Aayan Afzal Khan took 2 wickets for the Tigers, while Carlos Brathwaite, Abbas Afridi and Andre Russell took 1 wicket each.
Rutherford, Player of the Series:
Sharfan Rutherford of the Montreal Tigers was declared the player of the series. He scored 220 runs in the tournament at an average of 44.0 and a strike rate of 130.17.
