Canada 216 (Dutta 43, Jasdeep 4-51, Hutchinson 2-20) beat USA 199 (Dodson 73, Babar 62, Dhindsa 4-37, Pervez 3-42) by 17 runs
Scorecard
Another superb spell by Cecil Pervez helped Canada stave off USA’s lower order and retain the Auty Cup, as they secured a 17-run win in the second match at Woodley Park on Friday. Pervez followed up his 3 for 38 in the first match on Thursday with 3 for 42, including the key scalp of Akeem Dodson for 73.
USA, who had won the toss earlier, got off to a shaky start in their chase of Canada’s 216, when they stumbled to 10 for 3 in four overs. Abdullah Syed was bowled for a golden duck by a Pervez inswinger in the first over, before Alex Amsterdam and captain Steven Taylor were both caught driving to Canada captain Nitish Kumar at backward point, off Satsimranjit Dhindsa.
Dodson and opener Fahad Babar then put on a USA fourth-wicket record partnership of 127 – also USA’s best ever stand against Canada for any wicket – to dig the hosts out of a major hole. Dodson counterattacked early in his innings, exploiting the short straight boundary as he skipped down the track to loft offspinner Nikhil Dutta over long-on for six in the eighth over. He eventually brought up his fifty off 62 balls in the 25th over, while Babar brought up the same landmark off 79 balls in the 30th.
Kumar rotated his spinners in an effort to slow down the scoring rate and build pressure. It had its desired effect by the 32nd, when Dodson offered his first chance on 54, drilling a return catch to Varun Sehdev that ricocheted off the bowler’s hand and had the crowd gasping as it nearly carried to the fielder charging in from the long-off boundary. Babar eventually cracked at the other end with two balls to go in the 36th, when he tried to guide Junaid Siddiqui’s legspin behind point but played on to his stumps instead. This opened the door to the rest of USA’s fragile middle order.
Dodson offered another chance just two balls later, driving Dutta flat to long off, where substitute fielder Shehan Kamileen spilled the chance. Dutta plugged away and eventually got his first wicket later in the over as Nicholas Standford played around his pads to be trapped in front for a third-ball duck.
With USA needing 64 off nine overs and Dodson still at the crease on 73, Kumar brought back Pervez for his second spell. The seamer struck with his fifth ball, getting one to jag back from outside off and bowl Dodson. It was the first of four wickets in consecutive overs, as keeper Hamza Tariq caught Timil Patel – down the leg side – off Dhindsa in the 43rd over, and Hammad Shahid off Pervez in the 44th. Dhindsa then induced a leading edge from Jessy Singh for the ninth wicket, to put Canada within one wicket of victory at 163 for 9 in the 45th.
Elmore Hutchinson, the only other USA player to reach double figures, gave them hope briefly when he sandwiched a cut through point for four between two monstrous sixes over the sightscreen to take Pervez for 19 in the 46th over. Dhindsa followed that up with a sloppy over that included two wides and another four through point, to bring the equation down to 21 off 18 balls.
A long Canadian team discussion ensued before Kumar gave the ball to left-arm spinner Salman Nazar, who had figures of 0 for 25 in four overs at that stage and hadn’t bowled since the 17th over. After three singles off the first five balls, Nazar ended the match with an arm ball to No. 11 Prashanth Nair, who tried to dab it past the keeper, expecting turn, but instead chopped it onto his stumps. Hutchinson was left stranded on 37.
Earlier in the day, five Canadian batsmen crossed 20 but nobody reached 50. Dutta, promoted to No. 4 after making a second-ball duck on Thursday at No. 8, top-scored with 43. He came in after Hutchinson dismissed both openers inside the Powerplay, having Bhavindu Adhihetty caught slogging to mid-on for 14, and Srimantha Wijeratne edging a flick down the leg side for 18.
Nitish Kumar made a brisk 32 at No. 3, before he was caught in the covers off Nair’s left-arm spin. Coming together at 74 for 3, Dutta and Sehdev then produced Canada’s best partnership of the day, putting on 53 for the fourth wicket, before legspinner Patel had Sehdev caught behind for 26. Nazar then spooned a catch to Taylor at midwicket in Patel’s next over before Dutta fell in the 37th, chopping onto his stumps off Shahid, who was USA’s most troublesome bowler on the day and finished with 1 for 28.
Singh came back for a late spell after going wicketless with the new ball and won three lbw appeals to dismiss Hamza Tariq, and then Siddiqui and Dhindsa off consecutive balls. Canada were reduce to 197 for 9, but USA’s inability to polish off the tail for the second time cost them. No. 9 Dilon Heyliger crashed Singh’s hat-trick ball for six over long-off to start the 49th, and followed it with a four over midwicket and another towering six over long-off. He finished with a vital 31 off 17 balls that helped add 19 runs for the last wicket which eventually accounted for the winning margin.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo