Canada 209 (Nitish 62, Pathirana 36, Mustafa 5-34) beat United Arab Emirates 186 (shabber 55, Ashfaq 42, Nitish 2-11, Dutta 2-21) by 23 runs
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| Cecil Pervez punches the air after claiming the final wicket to seal victory | Suraj Parajuli |
In a showdown of offspinning-allrounder captains, Nitish Kumar's 62 and back-to-back wickets late in the chase trumped Rohan Mustafa's 5 for 34 and an unbeaten 37 as Canada staved off UAE by 23 runs in a tense chase at Wanderers Sports Club.
Mustafa struck with his first ball, coming on in the fourth over to bowl Ruvindu Gunasekera for 21. Nitish led a fightback through a 64-run third-wicket partnership with Dhanuka Pathirana and brought up his half-century off 75 balls before eventually falling to medium-pacer Mohammad Naveed at the beginning of the 41st over. Mustafa then came back to complete his five-for, holding Canada to 209.
Mustafa opened the chase but retired hurt in the fourth over on 6 before Ghulam Shabber joined Ashfaq Ahmed to carry on an 88-run opening stand. The drinks break at the 18-over mark brought Canada back to life as offspinner Nikhil Dutta struck in the 19th over to get Ashfaq for 42, sparking a collapse of three wickets in six balls as Gunasekera claimed two in the next over with his part-time legspin.
Shabber went on to top-score with 55 before he was the fifth batsman out, to Dillon Heyliger. Mustafa returned with 80 runs left to win and with storm clouds lurking, UAE were still a handful of runs ahead on Duckworth-Lewis but Nitish's consecutive strikes in the 43rd over put Canada in front on the calculation for good.
Needing 27 off 36 balls and with only the No. 11 Zahoor Khan left to help, Mustafa began turning down singles before taking one on the third ball of the 45th over. Cecil Pervez beat Zahoor on the final ball of the over with a yorker and his lbw appeal was upheld, triggering emotional celebrations from Canada who are now the only remaining unbeaten team in the tournament field.
