Toronto Nationals beat Vancouver Knights in inaugural encounter of the Canada T20 League by six wickets. Ewin Lewis scored 96 runs in 55 deliveries getting Vancouver Knights to a humongous total of 227 runs. In reply, Anton Devcich blasted the opposition all around the park scoring an unbeaten 92 runs in just 44 balls for a winning cause. The match was played on Maple Leaf North West ground that will be the only venue throughout the tournament.
Vancouver Knights begun with a flurry of boundaries. Ewin Lewis started off with a one handed six straight down the ground. He looked unstoppable from there on but fell tantalisingly short of his hundred. He hit ten sixes and five boundaries in the innings of 96 runs giving Canada T20 League a blockbuster beginning.
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Meanwhile, Chris Gayle looked a bit tentative in initial stages but managed to score boundaries once he was set. He wasn’t sure about nature of the pitch that made him play majority of his shots on the back foot. This brought his downfall as he played a lofted drive with his weight on the back foot hitting it straight to Steve Smith to long off on the bowling of Nikhil Dutta.
Steve Smith had a decent outing apart from the dropped catch of Ewin Lewis of Kieron Pollard’s bowling that proved costly later on. Eventually he redeemed himself by scoring a praiseworthy half century giving his team a good platform for the late onslaught. The former Australian skipper scored 61 runs off 41 balls before getting stumped to his countrymen Fawad Ahmed.
Anton Devcich looked in sublime touch and displayed mind boggling cricket shots all around the park. The Kiwi went about his work with great composure and calmness winning the game for his team quite comfortably. He hit ten fours and six sixes in his majestic innings of 92 runs.
Brief scores – Vancouver Knights 227 in 20 overs (Ewin Lewis 96 off 52, Nikhil Dutta 4-0-26-2) lost to Toronto Nationals 231/3 in 19.2 overs (Anton Devcich 92 off 44 balls
Fawad Ahmed 4-0-35-1) by 7 wickets