BRAMPTON: Saad Bin Zafar-led bowling attack decimated Mississauga Panthers’ batting lineup before Colin Munro’s blistering half-century propelled Toronto Nationals to a thumping six-wicket victory in GT20 Canada.
Put into bat first, the Panthers’ star-studded batting lineup faltered and could finish at 115/9 in the allotted 20 overs.
The Panthers got off to a poor start to their innings as they lost four wickets with just 28 runs on the board inside seven overs.
Following the slump, skipper Shoaib Malik attempted to anchor the innings with a cautious 44-run partnership with James Neesham.
The pair added vital runs in the middle but remained a touch slow as they conceded 53 deliveries before Neesham perished. The Kiwi all-rounder scored 18 off 24.
Panthers’ mainstay Shoaib Malik soon followed Neesham back into the hut as he perished in the 17th over after top-scoring for his side with a run-a-ball 37.
Tom Cooper played a blistering cameo at the death to bolster Panthers’ total before getting run out on the penultimate delivery of the innings.
He scored 26 from 14, laced with a boundary and two sixes.
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Saad Bin Zafar led the bowling attack for the Nationals with 3/31, followed by Zaman Khan and Faheem Ashraf, who took two each.
Set to chase a modest 116, the Nationals comfortably accumulated 118 for the loss of four wickets with 40 balls to spare.
Hard-hitting opener Colin Munro spearheaded National’s pursuit with a blistering half-century.
His 31-ball 67 featured five boundaries and six sixes.
Following Munro’s departure in the ninth over, the Nationals lost two quick wickets as Gerhard Erasmus (1) and Armaan Kapoor (5) fell in quick successions.
However, skipper Hamza Tariq (25*) stood his ground firm and made sure there were no further stirs in the run chase as the Nationals sailed through in the 14th over.
With a dominant victory, Toronto Nationals climbed to the third in the GT20 standings while the win-less Panthers remained at the bottom.
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