BRAMPTON, Ontario, CMC – Montreal Tigers will meet Surrey Jaguars in the final of the Global Twenty20 today in Canada.
Discarded West Indies all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford followed up a destructive spell from uncapped Pakistani pacer Abbas Afridi with 48 not out to guide the Tigers to a one-wicket win against Vancouver Knights with three balls remaining in the preliminary final yesterday at the CAA Centre.
The 24-year-old Guyanese cracked two fours and three sixes from 34 balls and held his nerve in the closing stages to drag the Tigers over the finish line after they were set a modest target of 138 to win the contest.
Rutherford struck consecutive sixes off the first three balls of the final over from Canada pacer Rayyan Pathan to usher the Tigers to a memorable win after United Arab Emirate pacer Junaid Siddique bagged four for 22 from his allotted four overs and they stumbled to 123 for nine in the chase.
The finish from Rutherford may have brought back memories of the finish to the 2016 T20 World Cup in India for Tigers teammate and former West Indies T20 International captain Carlos Brathwaite, whose contribution was one, and fellow Windies discard Andre Russell, who made 17.
West Indies left-arm spinner Fabian Allen supported Siddique with two for 15 from two overs at the start of the chase, and South African Corbin Bosch completed a tidy all-round performance when he picked up two for 18 from his four overs. The final between the Tigers and Jaguars starts at noon at the same venue.
Earlier, Abbas snared a career-best five for 29 from his allotted four overs, and the Knights were restricted to 137 for six in their 20 overs after they were put in to bat.
Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan led the way for the Knights with 39, Bosch made 36, and Canada batsman Harsh Thaker added 26, and the Vancouver side appeared to come up short of a competitive target.