Toronto Nationals delivered a dominant performance with both bat and ball, dethroning defending champions Montreal Tigers by 8 wickets to win the fourth season of the Global T20 Canada.
Toronto captain Colin Munro’s decision to field first proved to be a masterstroke as Montreal struggled to post a modest total of 96/9 in their 20 overs, following a batting collapse.
Andries Gous played a crucial role with a match-winning half-century, guiding Toronto to a comfortable victory. Despite suffering a broken finger shortly after arriving at the crease, the USA international remained unbeaten on 58 runs off 49 balls, ensuring Toronto Nationals secured the win in emphatic fashion.
The challenging batting conditions at TD Stadium in Brampton were further complicated by heavy rain, which delayed the toss by a couple of hours.
Australian pacer Jason Behrendorff capitalized on the conditions, delivering a superb spell of swing bowling that resulted in impressive figures of 3/8 in his four overs. This early breakthrough left Montreal’s top order in disarray, firmly placing Toronto in control of the match.
Montreal’s troubles began early when Toronto pacer Romario Shepherd dismissed opener Praveen Kumar in the second over. The situation worsened in the following over as Jason Behrendorff took out Gerhard Erasmus (2) and Tim Seifert (0) with consecutive deliveries.
Montreal skipper Chris Lynn (3) followed suit, attempting a wild slog off Behrendorff, only to provide an easy catch to Toronto wicketkeeper Unmukt Chand. Sherfane Rutherford (1) was quickly sent back, offering a simple catch off Junaid Siddiqui’s bowling, leaving Montreal in dire straits with half their lineup dismissed before the end of the power play.
However, Corbin Bosch (35) and Jaskaran Singh (16) managed to add 46 runs together, ensuring the Tigers’ innings lasted the full 20 overs.
Toronto’s chase started poorly, with captain Colin Munro being trapped leg before for a duck by Azmatullah Omarzai in the opening over. Bosch then bowled fellow opener Unmukt Chand (4) in the next over, raising hopes of a strong fightback by Montreal.
But Andries Gous and Rassie van der Dussen (30 not out) dashed those hopes with an unbeaten 85-run partnership, taking the Nationals over the line without any further setbacks.
Toronto Nationals’ Romario Shepherd was named Bowler of the Tournament for his 14 wickets, while Brampton Wolves’ George Munsey earned Batter of the Tournament honors with 218 runs. Canadian youngster Dilpreet Bajwa, representing Montreal Tigers, was recognized as the Emerging Player of the tournament, and Toronto’s UAE import Junaid Siddique was awarded Player of the Tournament.
