Global T20 Canada: Surrey Jaguars seal place in final; Montreal Tigers Cruise to Qualifiers 2

Brampton, Aug 5 (IANS) Surrey Jaguars register a comprehensive 38-run victory over the Vancouver Knights in Qualifier 1 to seal a place in the final of the Global T20 Canada tournament.

Their victory was enabled by the sensational bowling performances of Junaid Siddique (4-22), Ruben Trumpelmann (2-26) and Karthik Meiyappan (2-24). Montreal Tigers cruised to a nine-wicket victory with 34 balls remaining over Brampton Wolves in the Eliminator to set up a clash against Knights to decide who joins Jaguars in the final.

In the Qualifiers 1, Jaguars openers Mohammad Haris (20) and Jatinder Singh (15) got starts but failed to make it count as they reached 45-2 at the end of power-play. Pargat Singh (2) ran himself out soon after, while Litton Das (16) also departed after a promising start.

Skipper Iftikhar Ahmed (36) and Ayaan Khan (29) tried to put some resistance, but both batters were scalped in pursuit of a higher run rate. Following their demise, their tail struggled to make an impact. Siddique was the standout bowler for the Knights in restricting the Jaguars to 139-9.

In reply, Knights’ response fell apart early on as they reached 31-4 at the end of power-play, with the early dismissals of Rayyan Pathan (4), Mohammad Rizwan (4), Rassie Van Der Dussen (6) and Harsh Thaker (4). Najibullah Zadran (15) and Fabian Allen (27) tried resurrecting the chase, but departed soon enough as they were bowled out for 101 as the Jaguars made their way to the finals.

In the eliminator, the Wolves ended powerplay at 34-1 with the loss of Usman Khan (11). Aaron Johnson (31) played a fine knock at the top of the innings before he was scalped by Ayaan Khan. Mark Chapman (11) and Colin Grandhomme (20) failed to convert their starts and the innings eventually collapsed as Wolves were bowled out for 104, with Matthew Forde being the standout bowler with figures of 4-16.

In response, Chris Lynn (63 not out) and Mohammad Waseem (23) shared a 72-run partnership to make the chase a quick stroll in the park. Lynn was in fine form in dispatching ten boundaries, with Srimantha Wijeyeratne joined him to get the Tigers home with ease.

Brief Scores: Surrey Jaguars 139-9 (Iftikhar Ahmed 36, Ayaan Khan 29; Junaid Siddique 4-22, Karthik Meiyappan 2-24) beat Vancouver Knights 101 (Fabian Allen 27, Najibullah Zadran 15; Matthew Forde 4-16, Dillon Heyliger 2-8) by 38 runs.  

Brampton Wolves 104 (Aaron Johnson 31, Colin De Grandhomme 20; Ayaan Afzal Khan 2-16 Carlos Brathwaite 2-20) lost to Montreal Tigers 108-1 (Chris Lynn 63 not out, Muhammad Waseem 23; Shahid Ahmadzai 1-26) by nine wickets