Brampton Wolves made a thrilling start in an electrifying opening match of the Global T20 Canada at the TD Cricket Arena here, defeating Mississauga Panthers by 44 runs after inclement weather forced the result to be decided by the Duckworth Lewis method.
After winning the toss and deciding to bowl first, Brampton Wolves rode on a superb bowling performance by Netherlands’ Logan Van Beek to restrict Mississauga Panthers to 121 all out.
Van Beek was the pick of the Wolves’ bowlers showcasing an exceptional performance with 4-12 in his four overs while Chris Green chipped in with two crucial wickets.
Azam Khan put out on a stellar display with the bat as the Panthers’ tops scorer with 65 runs from just 54 deliveries, helping them finish with 121 runs in their innings.
In response, Brampton Wolves’ opener Aaron Johnson and Mark Chapman played a crucial match-winning partnership, leading their team to a comfortable victory upon stoppage of play.
The Mississauga Panthers had a staggered start to their innings, struggling to capitalize on the field restrictions during the Power-play due to a slow surface.
With only 28 runs on the board and three wickets down, their top order faced difficulties in the early phase of the innings. Tim Cooper (3) was unfortunate to be run out, adding to their woes.
However, Chris Gayle (10) looked to find his groove, smashing consecutive boundaries before falling victim to an excellent delivery from Logan Van Beek. Azam Khan (65), batting at No.5 took control of the innings and strung together a crucial partnership with Canadian national player, Navneet Dhaliwal, who scored a cautious 29 runs of 32 deliveries to negate a challenging batting surface.
While Azam Khan began his innings with a watchful approach, he broke the shackles in the middle overs, reaching his half-century in just 38 deliveries.
A series of exceptional strokes left the Brampton Wolves’ bowlers in search of answers. However, the departure of Navneet Dhaliwal was followed by the quick dismissals of the likes of James Neesham (1), Usman Qadir (2) and Jaskaran Singh (0), leaving the Pakistani batter without much support, before he himself got out in the twentieth over. The Panthers finished with 121/10.
In response to the Mississauga Panthers, the Brampton Wolves came out with all guns blazing.
Wicket-keeper batsman, Usman Khan (12) got them off the mark with a massive six in only the second delivery of the innings before departing for 12 runs in just six deliveries.
Opening with Usman Khan, Canadian batsmen Aaron Johnson (48) continued the onslaught along with New Zealand’s Mark Chapman (30) who came in at NO.3 to put together a partnership of 76 runs.
Aaron Johnson played a breathtaking knock with five boundaries and three sixes for his 48 runs that came in just 26 deliveries while Chapman supported him with a solid knock of 30 runs in 22 deliveries.
With the Brampton Wolves needing a comfortable 23 runs in 11 overs, the umpires called the players off the field due to bad light. The match was awarded to the Brampton Wolves on the Duckworth Lewis method that gave the Wolves a 44-run victory.
Brief scores:
Mississauga Panthers 121 all out in 19.4 overs (Azam Khan 65, Navneet Dhaliwal 29; Logan Van Beek 4-12, Chris Green 2-17) lost to Brampton Wolves 99/1 in 9 overs (Aaron Johnson 48, Mark Chapman 30; Zahoor Khan 1-14) by 44 runs via DLS method.
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