NEW YORK: Canada’s inexperienced batters crumbled against pace for yet another low score at the Twenty20 World Cup as Pakistan finally registered their first win Tuesday.
The four-pronged Pakistan pace attack, led by Mohammad Amir’s impeccable figures of 2-13, clipped Canada for 106-7 with only opening batter Aaron Johnson showing aggression in his 44-ball knock of 52.
Mohammad Rizwan’s unbeaten half-century (53 not out) anchored Pakistan, which lost to rival India on Sunday, to 107-3 in 17.3 overs for a commanding seven-wicket win.
“Good for us, we needed this win,” Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said. “We started well with the bowling, in the first six overs (and) we know we had to be up to the mark.”
Johnson sent early tremors in Pakistan’s camp with his back-to-back boundaries off Shaheen Shah Afridi’s first two balls of the match after Babar won the toss and elected to field.
But Amir, who came out of retirement for the World Cup, hit the right areas straight away and buckled the batters as wickets continued to fall around Johnson.
Johnson, who was dropped on 44 by Fakhar Zaman at mid-wicket, hit four boundaries and brought up his half-century with his fourth six before he too was finally undone by Naseem Shah in the 14th over.
Fast bowler Haris Rauf became the third quickest bowler to complete 100 wickets in T20 internationals when he had Shreyas Movva (2) caught behind and then found the outside edge of Ravinderpal Singh’s bat in the same over to finish with 2-26.
“Definitely, it was a bit disappointing,” Pakistan-born Canada skipper Saad Bin Zafar said. “We wanted to play a positive brand of cricket and I think the wicket was not very helpful. It was difficult to bat early on and not a good toss to lose. We were about 25 to 30 runs short.”
Pakistan’s experiment with Saim Ayub as an opener in the World Cup for the first time didn’t work out as the left-hander struggled to score 6 off 12 balls before he edged Dillon Heyliger (2-18) to wicketkeeper inside the batting power play.
Rizwan and Babar (33) then had a 63-run stand before the Pakistan skipper banged his bat on the wicket in anger when he tried to guide Heyliger to third man but couldn’t beat the wicketkeeper as Rizwan’s run-a-ball half-century saw Pakistan over the line.
Pakistan, the 2022 runner-up, needs to beat Ireland in their last game and also hope co-host US lose both their remaining games against India and Ireland to have a chance of advancing on superior net run-rate.
The United States made a history by beating Pakistan in the Super Over in Dallas after they had defeated Canada in a high-scoring opening game of the tournament they are jointly co-hosting with the West Indies.
Pakistan finally get first win at T20 World Cup, beat Canada by 7 wickets
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Pakistan finally get first win at T20 World Cup, beat Canada by 7 wickets
- “Good for us, we needed this win,” Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said
- Amir, who came out of retirement for the World Cup, hit the right areas straight away and buckled the batters as wickets continued to fall around Johnson
Desert Vipers clinch historic first ILT20 title with emphatic final win
- Sam Curran stars with bat and ball as Vipers overpower MI Emirates by 46 runs
DUBAI: The Desert Vipers claimed their maiden International League T20 crown on Sunday night after a commanding 46-run victory over MI Emirates in front of a packed Dubai International Stadium.
Led by skipper Sam Curran’s unbeaten 74, the Vipers posted an imposing 182 for 4 before producing a disciplined bowling display to dismiss MI Emirates for 136 in 18.3 overs.
The triumph earned the Vipers a $700,000 prize along with the Black Belt, while runners-up MI Emirates collected $300,000.
Curran’s match-winning knock came off 51 balls and featured eight fours and two sixes. He was well supported by Max Holden (41 off 32) and Dan Lawrence (23 off 15), whose late acceleration ensured a strong finish. David Payne led the bowling effort with 3 for 42, while Naseem Shah (3/18), Usman Tariq (2/20) and Khuzaima Tanveer (2/22) kept MI Emirates under constant pressure.
The final was preceded by a vibrant pre-match spectacle, with fireworks and a drone show lighting up the Dubai skyline and creating a carnival atmosphere befitting the showpiece occasion.
Curran capped off a standout tournament by finishing with both the Red Belt (Most Valuable Player) and the Green Belt (Best Batter). He ended the season with 397 runs, including three half-centuries, alongside seven wickets and 10 catches.
MI Emirates’ chase faltered early as Shah struck twice in the powerplay, removing Andre Fletcher (10 off 11) and Tom Banton (7 off 6). Khuzaima Tanveer then claimed the key wicket of Muhammad Waseem (26 off 13), leaving MI Emirates 46 for 3 inside six overs.
Usman Tariq further tightened the screws by dismissing Sanjay Krishnamurthi (2 off 9), while Shakib Al Hasan (36 off 27) and Kieron Pollard (28 off 27) struggled to generate momentum. Although the pair added 50 runs, Tariq’s removal of Shakib left MI Emirates needing 61 from the final four overs.
Any remaining hopes were extinguished when Naseem removed Pollard before Payne ripped through the lower order, taking three wickets in the 18th over. Khuzaima sealed the title by bowling Muhammad Rohid (3 off 4), with the Vipers completing victory with nine balls to spare.
Earlier, the Vipers made a brisk start through Fakhar Zaman (20 off 15) and Jason Roy (11 off 7) before Fazalhaq Farooqi struck twice to remove both openers. Curran responded decisively, driving the Vipers to 59 for 2 at the end of the powerplay.
A fluent partnership with Holden steadied the innings, the pair adding 89 runs before Holden fell in the 15th over. Curran brought up his half-century off 39 balls and, alongside Lawrence, added 57 runs in the final stages to lift the Vipers to a match-winning total.
Dubai Capitals’ Waqar Salamkheil claimed the White Belt for Best Bowler with 18 wickets, while MI Emirates’ Waseem won the Blue Belt for Best UAE Player for the fourth consecutive season. Each belt winner received USD 15,000.
Player of the Match Sam Curran said: “I was nervous coming into the final, but the players, management and owners have been outstanding. Losing Gous in the warm-up tested us, but it showed the strength of our group. MI are a quality side, but over the season we’ve been the most consistent team and deserved the trophy.”
MI Emirates skipper Pollard added: “It went wrong in the field. In finals, those moments matter. I felt 180 was chaseable, but losing early wickets hurt us. The Vipers deserved to win, though, and overall it’s been a fantastic tournament for us.”
