Bermuda suffer heartbreak as Canada qualify for T20 World Cup 2024 for the first time

The cricket extravaganza in India is at its peak with the ODI World Cup 2023 already underway and plenty of run fest the fans got to witness on Saturday, October between South Africa and Sri Lanka. As several records tumbled, some cricket aficionados also have their eyes on the progress going on in the qualification rounds of the upcoming ninth edition of the T20 World Cup. Notably the global event is slated to be played in June next year, in the USA and West Indies, respectively.

In the same vein, Team Canada qualified for the marquee event for the first time by beating Bermuda owing to a better net run rate (NRR) despite being levelled in the points tally with Bermuda. Hence it proved to be a heartbreaking experience for the latter. The Canadian side clinched a 39-run win in Hamilton on Saturday, October 7.

Notably, the T20 World Cup qualifiers are being played in the double round-robin format. The coveted tournament was expanded to 20 teams recently. Speaking of the American continent, apart from Canada and Bermuda, teams like the Cayman Islands and Panama also competed in the global qualifiers.

Canada have failed to qualify in the 50-Over World Cup format since 2011

Speaking of the game, the Indian original player Navneet Dhaliwal starred with the bat for Canada as his 45-run knock helped his side to set up a respectable total of 132/4 on the board in their 20-over quota. Interestingly enough, in the final over of the Canadian innings, 20 runs came in the last over. Among the pick of bowlers, Kaleem Sana and Jeremy Gordon share three wickets between them.

Such was their impact that triggered a sudden collapse for Bermuda as they lost their last six wickets within a matter of 30 runs. Consequently, Bermuda failed to take the game down to the wire as they got folded for just 93 runs in the 17th over. This meant that Canada sealed both the game and their T20 World Cup spot.

However, when it comes to the 50-over format, Canada last played in the ODI World Cup back in 2011. Hence their victory over Bermuda became more merrier as this was the first time that the nation went on to qualify for a global ICC (International Cricket Council) event.