Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Russell step up as Tigers eclipse Jaguars to claim GT20 title

The TD Cricket Arena in Brampton was packed to the rafters as Montreal Tigers were anointed champions of season three of Global T20 Canada, following a sensational last-ball victory against the Surrey Jaguars. The Montreal Tigers chased 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's (38*) and Andre Russell (20*) wove a match-winning partnership of 29 runs in just twelve balls to bring home the trophy for the Montreal Tigers. 

The Montreal Tigers 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 35/0. Jatinder Singh anchored the innings with an unbeaten half-century. Afzal Khan got the Tigers their first breakthrough when he trapped a well-settled Mohammad 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 ten overs, the Jaguars were 58/1. Soon after, A. Afzal Khan scalped Litton Das (12) in the eleventh over. Skipper Iftikhar Ahmed (8) looked to move the scoreboard along and lost his wicket as well to Carlos Brathwaite’s low full toss. Ayaan Khan (26) walked in for the Jaguars and played a much-needed quick-fire knock towards the death overs in just 15 deliveries before he was cleaned up by Abbas Afridi in the nineteenth over. Andre Russell bowled a terrific last over, conceding only seven runs and scalping Matthew Forde (1) in the process. The Surrey Jaguars finished on a competitive total of 130/5.   

The Montreal Tigers’ response had a tempestuous start. Following a dropped catch, 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 number three, Srimantha Wijeyeratne (12) failed to convert his start. However, opener Chris Lynn (31) batted well to make an essential contribution but was dismissed by Iftikhar Ahmed in the eleventh over. In the same over, Iftikhar Ahmed scalped Dilpreet Singh (15), who was also getting his eye in, to switch the momentum back in favour of the Jaguars.

With five overs, the Montreal Tigers needed 53 runs with six wickets in hand. Sherfane Rutherford (38) and Dipendra Singh (16) struggled to score runs against Iftikhar Ahmed, who conceded just one run in the sixteenth over. Rutherford took apart Matthew Forde in the eighteenth over, with a six and a four to bring the equation down to 25 runs needed off 12 balls. Dipendra Singh retired to bring out the dangerous Andre Russell (20). Spencer Johnson bowled the penultimate over and conceded 12 runs to the duo of Russell and Rutherford. With two runs needed off the last ball, pacer Ammar Khalid could not contain Andre Russell, who dispatched his second maximum of the over to claim the silverware for the Montreal Tigers. The Montreal Tigers 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)  

Tigers won by five wickets.