Global T20 Canada Day 3: Vancouver Knights, Brampton Wolves register thrilling victories

Brampton [Canada], July 23 (ANI): The action-packed day 3 of the third edition of Global T20 Canada left fans delighted with a double dose of entertainment as Vancouver Knights and Brampton Wolves register impressive wins in their respective matches. In the first encounter of the day, the Vancouver Knights defeated Mississauga Panthers by five wickets in a last-ball thriller, while the second match of the day witnessed Brampton Wolves beat Toronto Nationals by a wicket in a nail-biting game. 
As per the press release. after winning the toss the Vancouver Knights asked the Mississauga Panthers to bat first. Early on in the innings, the Knights’ bowling exerted a great amount of 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’ 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.
In the second match of the day, the Toronto Nationals got off to an explosive start after their Skipper and opener Hamza Tariq elected to bat first and smashed a quickfire 23 off 17 before he was removed by Brampton Wolves Captain Tim Southee in the fifth over of the match as Chris Green grabbed a stunning diving catch while running back. Moments later, in the ninth over, Colin Munro (24) also departed after hitting the ball high up in the air only to get caught by Green off Logan van Beek’s delivery.
However, the loss of two wickets in quick succession didn’t deter the Nationals’ run rate as Nicholas Kirton stuck to his aggressive approach and hit boundaries at regular intervals to keep the scoreboard ticking. But, the dismissals of Shahid Afridi (15) and Gerhard Erasmus (0) in two successive deliveries by Shahid Ahmadzai put Toronto Nationals on the backfoot and the pressure resulted in a cheap wicket of all-rounder JJ Smit (1) which was followed by the dismissals of Faheem Ashraf (13) and Kirton, who departed after completing his half-century. With wickets falling at regular intervals, Toronto Nationals’ players failed to find boundaries in the slog overs and managed to put 142/8 in the allotted 20 overs.
Chasing the modest target of 143 runs, Brampton Wolves found themselves in trouble after they were reduced to 34/3 in the opening five overs of their innings as openers Usman Khan (5) and Aaron Johnson (3) departed cheaply, while Mark Chapman walked back to the pavilion after scoring 21 runs. As the required run rate increased with each passing over, Hussain Talat (44) and Rizwan Cheema (35) switched gears and smashed multiple boundaries to ease off the pressure.
However, the duo’s departure in the death overs once again put Wolves on the back foot, while Afridi’s two wickets in consecutive deliveries in the 18th over left Brampton Wolves reeling at 138/8 with just two overs to go. The drama continued with the dismissal of Chris Green (12) in the 19th over as the Wolves required two runs in the final over with only a wicket in hand. However, Shahid Ahmadzai and Jan Frylinck held their nerves to take Brampton Wolves home at 146/9.
Brief scores: Mississauga Panthers – 158/6 in 20 overs (Azam Khan - 64 runs off 35 balls, Chris Gayle - 61 off 55 balls, Navneet Dhaliwal – 7 runs off 9 balls, Corbin Bosch - 2/23, Harsh Thaker – 1/24, Ruben Trumpelmann – 1/27).
Vancouver Knights- 159/5 in 20 overs (Harsh Thaker - 75 runs off 54 balls, Rassie Van Der Dussen - 31 runs off 22 balls, Fakhar Zaman – 23 runs off 25 balls, Parveen Kumar – 2/29, James Neesham - 1/26, Jaskaran Singh - 1/32).
Vancouver Knights won by 5 wickets (with 0 balls remaining)
Toronto Nationals – 142/8 in 20 overs (Nicholas Kirton – 50 runs off 40 balls, Colin Munro - 24 off 22 balls, Shahid Afridi – 15 off 12 balls, Logan van Beek – 3/27, Shahid Ahmadzai – 2/23, Tim Southee 2/26).
Brampton Wolves - 146/9 in 19.5 overs (Hussain Talat – 44 runs off 33 balls, Rizwan Cheema - 35 runs off 28 balls, Mark Chapman – 21 runs off 16 balls, Zaman Khan - 3/24, Shahid Afridi - 2/6, Faheem Ashraf – 2/21). (ANI)