What a game! And what a way to kick off the Global T20 from Toronto, Canada. 227/4 versus 231/4 with over 330 runs in boundaries.

What a game! And what a way to kick off the Global T20 from Toronto, Canada. 227/4 versus 231/4 with over 330 runs in boundaries.

It certainly wasn’t a day for bowlers, with UAE’s Naveed Ahmad conceding 60 off his 4 overs, Canadian Umair Ghani 40 off his 3, Sheldon Cottrell 54 off his 4, and Jeremy Gordon 25 off 1.2 overs. Poor Canadian skipper Nitish Kumar’s only involvement in the game was to bowl 1 over which went for 21, as he wasn’t required to bat.

The standouts with the ball were a spinner from each side. Canada’s Nikhil Dutta playing for the home side Toronto Nationals, opened the bowling and finished with 2 for 26 from his 4 overs, including the prized wicket of Chris Gayle just as he was threatening to explode. Vancouver’s Australian Leggie Fawad Ahmed, finished with 1 for 35, taking the wicket of his compatriot Steve Smith who’s innings was just starting to blossom. The disgraced former Australian skipper making a very handy 61 off 41 balls to show that even 3 months away from the game can’t diminish his class.

For the Vancouver Knights Evin Lewis and Andre Russell were brutal with bat in hand. Lewis was unlucky to fall short of his hundred, falling to a great catch by Anton Devcich for 96 off 55 balls. Russell meanwhile put the finishing touches on the innings with 54 not out off just 20 balls.

At the break all-and-sundry were convinced that 227 was well beyond the reach of the Nationals. However, Johnson Charles got things off to a flyer, before Devcich and Smith combined for a 91 run partnership that amazingly kept them ahead of the game. Man of the match Devcich in particular was hitting the ball cleanly throughout the innings, his 92 not out off 44 balls essentially eclipsing Lewis’s earlier effort.  It was then left to skipper Darren Sammy to hit the winning runs with 4 balls remaining, his monstrous six off Jeremy Gordon putting the icing on what had been a quite remarkable run chase, and a superb evening of entertainment for the fans who turned up.

When the match began the stands were sparse, but by part way through the second innings the ground appeared to be about two-thirds full, raising hopes that the weekends double-headers should see bumper crowds.



The pitch also played better than anyone could have hoped, with only the occasional delivery sticking in the surface. All of this bodes well for the tournament moving forward.

Match Scores:

Vancouver Knights 227/4 (20 overs), lost to Toronto Nationals 231/4 (19.2 overs)