Montreal Tigers and captain Chris Lynn get to hold the trophy for winning the third Global T20 Canada in Brampton. Supplied photo

Brampton: Montreal Tigers were anointed champions of the third Global T20 Canada title in front of a packed TD Cricket Arena in Brampton, following a sensation last-ball victory against Surrey Jaguars. The Tigers chased down the target of 131, with five wickets in hand.

Jatinder Singh’s (56*) half century and Iftikhar Ahmed’s (2/8) crafty spell kept the Jaguars in the mix till the very last delivery. However, Sherfane Rutherford (38*) and Andre Russell (20*) wove a match-winning partnership of 29 runs in just 12 balls to bring home the trophy for the Tigers.

The Montreal side won the toss and chose to field first. Openers Mohammad Haris (23) and Jatinder Singh (56*) started cautiously and, at the end of the powerplay, the Surrey Jaguars were 35 for no loss. Jatinder Singh anchored the innings, with an unbeaten half century. The UAE’s promising teenage talent Aayan Afzal Khan then forced the breakthrough.  The all-rounder, 17, got the Tigers their first breakthrough, when he trapped a well-settled Haris (23) in the sixth over.

Litton Das (12) joined Jatinder Singh and continued to rotate the strike and minimize risks. At the halfway mark of 10 overs, the Jaguars were 58/1. But Aayan A Khan struck again in the next over when the left-arm spinner went through the defence of Das. Skipper Iftikhar Ahmed (8) looked to move the scoreboard along and lost his wicket as well to Carlos Brathwaite’s low full toss.

2️⃣ Big wickets in the Big Match!

Aayan Afzal Khan is a serious talent 🫡#GT20Canada #GT20Season3 #GlobalT20 #CricketsNorth #GT20Finals #SJvMT pic.twitter.com/lrUHiETLOz

— GT20 Canada (@GT20Canada) August 6, 2023

Oman all-rounder Ayaan Khan (26) walked in for the Jaguars and played a much-needed breezy knock towards the death overs in just 15 deliveries before he was cleaned up by Abbas Afridi in the penultimate over. Russell bowled a terrific last over, conceding only seven runs and claiming the wicket of Matthew Forde (1) in the process. The Jaguars finished on a competitive total of 130/5.

The Tigers’ response had a tempestuous start. Despite getting a reprieve from a dropped catch, the UAE captain Muhammad Waseem (0) was bowled by a ripper from Spencer Johnson. At the end of the powerplay, the Tigers were poised at 35/1. Coming in at No 3 position, Srimantha Wijeyeratne (12) failed to convert his start, but opener Chris Lynn (31) batted well to make a key contribution and was dismissed by Iftikhar in the 11^th over.

In the same over, Iftikhar claimed the wicket of Dilpreet Singh (15), who was also getting his eye in, to switch the momentum back in the favour of Jaguars. With five overs to go, the Tigers needed 53 runs with six wickets in hand. Sherfane Rutherford (38) and Dipendra Singh (16) struggled to score runs against Iftikhar, who conceded just one run in the 16^th over.

Sherfane Rutherford, man of the final and the series.

Rutherford took apart Matthew Forde in the 18^th over, with a six and a four to bring the equation down to 25 runs needed of 12 balls. Dipendra Singh retired out, to bring out the dangerous Russell (20). Johnson bowled the penultimate over and conceded 12 runs. With two runs needed of the last ball, pacer Ammar Khalid could not contain Russell who dispatched his second maximum of the over, to claim the silverware for the Tigers, who finished at 135/5.

Brief scores:

Surrey Jaguars 130/5 (Jatinder Singh – 56 runs in 57 balls, Mohammad Haris – 23 runs in 22 balls, Ayaan Khan – 26 runs in 15 balls, Ayaan Afzal Khan – 2/21, Andre Russell – 1/24, Abbas Afridi – 1/31)

Montreal Tigers 135/5 ( Sherfane Rutherford – 38* runs in 29 balls, Chris Lynn – 31 runs in 35 balls, Andre Russell – 20* runs in 6 balls, Iftikhar Ahmed – 2/8, Ayaan Khan – 1/12, Spencer Johnson – 1/31)