BRAMPTON: An all-round effort from Colin de Grandhomme bolstered Brampton Wolves to sink Montreal Tigers by 15 runs in the top-of-the-table clash of the ongoing GT20.
The former New Zealand all-rounder backed his first-innings half-century with two wickets and a run out to dent the Tigers’ expedition of emerging victorious in the GT20 top-of-the-table clash.
Put into bat first, the Wolves could accumulate 143 before being bundled out in the final over despite Colin de Grandhomme’s gutsy half-century.
The Wolves had a dismal start to their innings as Shakib Al Hasan castled Aaron Johnson (6) to push the visitors on the back foot.
Wicketkeeper batter Usman Khan, however, stitched an anchoring second-wicket partnership with Mark Chapman before falling to Aayan Afzal Khan in the seventh over.
He scored a brisk 21-ball 33, laced with six boundaries.
The Wolves coped another blow in the same over when Hussain Talat perished for a three-ball duck.
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Following back-to-back dismissals, Mark Chapman joined forces with his countrymate Colin de Grandhomme and the duo stitched a crucial partnership for their side.
The Kiwi pair added 36 runs to their fourth-wicket partnership before Abbas Afridi got rid of Chapman, who contributed notably with a 22-ball 21.
Chapman’s dismissal sparked a frustrating collapse in the Wolves’ batting lineup.
Meanwhile, Grandhomme kept the scoreboard ticking singlehandedly whilst losing partners at the other end at an alarming rate and scored a fighting half-century before finally perishing in the final over.
He top-scored for the Wolves with a 40-ball 56 which featured seven boundaries and a six.
Carlos Brathwaite and Aayan Afzal Khan led the bowling attack for the Tigers with four wickets each while Abbas and Shakib made one scalp each.
Set to chase a modest 144-run total, the Tigers’ batting lineup failed completely and bundled out for a paltry 128.
Shakib Al Hasan (28), Dipendra Singh Airee (28) and Dilpreet Singh (24) offered brief resistance with their cameos while the rest failed clueless against the Wolves’ bowling attack.
For Brampton Wolves, Saad Bin Zafar returned with 3/20, followed by Colin de Grandhomme and Shahid Ahmadzai taking two each.
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