Winnipeg Hawks Are 2019 Global T20 Champion After Super-Over Showdown

By Ravi Madholall in Toronto
Winnipeg Hawks are the 2019 Global T20 champions having dethroned Vancouver Knights in the Super-Over on Sunday at the CAA Centre, Brampton.

After the pulsating contest was tied with both teams scoring 192 each from the allotted 20-overs, Winnipeg Hawks made nine runs and then restricted the Knights for seven in the decisive over.

The six-team tournament, which began on July 25, watched by a capacity 7,500 crowd in splendid sunshine.

Vancouver Knights, who lifted the prestigious trophy at the inaugural 2018 season, won the toss and invited Hawks to take first strike.

Hawks began their innings in enterprising fashion as their two openers Chris Lynn and player-of-the-match Shaiman Anwar posted up a flamboyant 73-run opening stand in just six overs.

The right-handed Anwar hit a robust 45-ball 90 which counted seven towering sixes and eight fours while during his innings, the UAE’s batsman witnessed the departure of Lynn who was also belligerent striking three sixes and four fours from 21 balls.

After West Indies dynamic all-rounder Andre Russell removed Lynn, the Jamaican also accounted for Sonny Sohal for 1 to peg back things briefly. However, Anwar continued to bat with great freedom on a responsive pitch. He and South Africa ace batsman JP Duminy also participated in a steady 81-run third-wicket stand before Duminy was bowled comprehensively by USA fast-bowler Ali Khan.

Barbadian and West Indies batsman Dwayne Smith (01) and skipper Reyad Emrit (06) fell in quick succession as Russell and Ali bowled with good line and length to keep things relatively slow towards the completion of the penultimate innings of this year’s edition.

Russell, who bowled a decent right-arm medium-pace, snared four wickets for 29 runs from four overs while Ali grabbed two for 24 and another right-arm medium-pacer Ryan Pathan took two for 30 off his three-over spell.

Vancouver Knights, perhaps missed the services of one of their most inform batsmen Chris Gayle, who left the side recently to represent West Indies in Caribbean against India in their three-match one-day series, began their chase precariously.

The consistent Chadwick Walton and his opening partner Tobias Visee failed to make an impression on this occasion having dismissed to pacer and Trinidadian Emrit in the second over for 01 and 00 respectively.

Walton was leg-before trying to pull a ball across the line while Visee seemed ambitions trying to go over the top spooning a catch to Umair Ghani at short mid-wicket.Veteran South African batsman He van der Dussen (23) and Daniel Sams (21) linked up and put up a strong fight by sharing a promising 37-run third-wicket stand before both perished to quickie Paul van Meekeren.

At 53-4, Pakistani Shoaib Malik and Canadian all-rounder Saad Bin Zafar consolidated the innings with an impressive 86-run fifth-wicket stand before Malik was run out for a 36-ball 64 which was laced three sixes and six fours.

Russell arrived at the crease and immediately started his aggression spanking three massive sixes over long-on and two attractive fours to pull things dramatically back for the Knights combination. The thirty-one-year old Russell, who has featured for West Indies so far in all three formats, once again demonstrated his all-round capability as he blasted an unbeaten 46 which only spanned twenty balls.

Needing to get three runs off the final delivery, Zafaar fell short of his crease having attempted a third run.