Shakib's Montreal Tigers remain unbeaten in GT20

Tuesday saw another day of exhilarating cricket at the Global T20 Canada at the TD Arena in Brampton. The first encounter of the day was reduced to 18 overs a side after a delayed start due to a wet outfield. The Surrey Jaguars secured a dominant victory over the Toronto Nationals, by 20 runs, with match winning performances from skipper Iftikhar Ahmed and all-rounder Matthew Forde. The second match of the day saw the undefeated Montreal Tigers triumph over Vancouver Knights with 6 wickets and 11 balls to spare. Sherfane Rutherford played the knock of the tournament, taking his team to the finish line with an unbeaten 84 in just 53 deliveries. 

The Toronto Nationals won the toss and asked the Surrey Jaguars to set them a target. Opener Jatinder Singh (21) gave the Jaguars an explosive start in the first three overs, aided by sloppy fielding and poor bowling. However, the Nationals regained control of the innings following the dismissal of Jatinder Singh. At the end of the five over Powerplay, the Jaguars were 41/1. Marquee players, Alex Hales (16) and Litton Das (21) failed to convert their starts, scalped during a shrewd spell by Saad Bin Zafar. With just 9 runs accumulated in his first 16 deliveries, Skipper Iftikhar Ahmed turned a cautious start into a belter, before he was dismissed for 47 in just 35 deliveries. Matthew Forde (19) gave the innings a much-needed boost, allowing the Jaguars to finish at 141/6.  

In response the Nationals had a slow start to their innings, due to a lethal spell by Matthew Forde. At the end of the Powerplay, they were in a precarious position at 30/3. Unencumbered by the loss of Hamza Tariq (5), Nicolas Kirton (0), and Gerhard Erasmus (5), Colin Munro (43) batted aggressively to give the Nationals a glimmer of hope before he was cleaned up by Sandeep Lamichhane.  Arman Kapoor (16) initially supported Munro but failed to convert his start. In the final few overs, JJ Smit (23) and an injured Shahid Afridi (23) struggled to match the consistently rising asking rate. The wickets continued to tumble, and the Nationals finished short of their target at 121/9. 

In the second match of the day, The Vancouver Knights were put in to bat by the Montreal Tigers. Opener, Rayyan Pathan (6) fell early to Brathwaite, but Fakhar Zaman (73) stewarded the Knights through to a steady start. At the end of the Powerplay the Knights were well placed at 49/1. Harsh Thakker (9) struggled to replicate his touch from the previous innings, before he was run out. As Zaman settled in, he unleashed numerous stokes, finding the boundary on ten separate occasions before he was dismissed by Dilpreet Singh Airee in the 16th over. Rassie Van Der Dussen (26) was also sent back to the pavilion on a futile pursuit to accelerate the run rate.

Following this, Abbas Afridi and Kaleem Sana bowled well in two economical overs in the death, to restrict the Knights at 149/4 

In the second innings of the match, the Montreal Tigers' start was derailed by the bowling of Fabian Allen. Chris Lynn (0) was dismissed without troubling the scorers, followed by Mohammad Wasim (1). Shakib Al Hassan looked threatening but lost his wicket in the third over.

At the end of the powerplay, the Tigers were poised at 48/3.  Sherfane Rutherford (84*) came it at 21/3, along with Dipendra Singh Airee (21*) undertook the repair job on hand and put together a critical 83 run partnership. While Dilpreet Singh (21) chipped in as well. With 40 runs needed in the death overs, the Tigers secured a 14-run over off Nawab Singh that switched the momentum back in their favour. Sherfane Rutherford was in fine form, hitting six maximums and 13 boundaries in total, to help the Montreal Tigers coast home comfortably, at 153/4.