Malaysia stun Canada late to win one-day tri-series

After rain threatened to play spoilsport early in the day, it was tears for Canada by the end as Malaysia pulled off a shock three-wicket victory with a single ball to spare in the final of the one-day tri-series also featuring hosts Hong Kong.

Malaysia won the toss and elected to bowl first in strong batting conditions. The match was shortened to 34 overs-a-side, and with the threat of further rain, chasing was always going to be an advantage as proved to be the case by the very end.

Posting an imposing 243/8 in 34 overs thanks to half-centuries from Nicholas Kirton, Dilpreet Bajwa, and Shreyas Movva, Canada failed to come up with the goods with the ball as Malaysia scampered home with one ball to spare.

Overall, this tour serves as good preparation for what’s in store in Nepal next, and exposes some areas that need to be worked on in the future.

“A lot of positive signs to take from here,” captain Saad Bin Zafar said when asked about his overall thoughts on the tour. “All our batsmen are in good form, we posted really good, high totals every single day. Just a few things to work on but, overall, happy with how this tour went for us and we’ll take a lot of positives to Nepal.”

Playing XI:

Aaron Johnson, Yuvraj Samra, Pargat Singh, Nicholas Kirton, Ajayveer Hundal, Dilpreet Bajwa, Shreyas Movva (wk), Dillon Heyliger, Saad Bin Zafar ©, Udaybir Walia, Uday Bhagwan.

Scorecard

Takeaways:

KIRTON SHAKES OFF RUST EARLY, SPARKLES LATER

Aaron Johnson signaled Canada’s intent early by taking Muhammad Wafiq to the cleaners in the second over of the innings, 22 coming off it to set the batting side on its way. He fell for 18 off 9, though, bringing the two centurions from the win over Hong Kong together. They could only manage a dozen total runs this time around, bringing Nicholas Kirton to the crease at a tricky 30/2 in his first match of the tour.

Kirton could have been back in the pavilion off the second ball he faced, edging a clever leg-cutter but the man at second slip grassed the catching opportunity on the dive. After an assured backfoot punch through the offside and a lovely lofted flick for a couple boundaries suggested he was finding his way, Kirton failed to read a slower ball and was down for the count as the ball went on to hit him in the midsection.

After receiving some treatment, Kirton seemed to be in a better flow and a brilliant lofted drive over deep cover showed he was finding his best. Kirton’s 52 off 51 was ultimately crucial in Canada resetting a platform after the loss of some early wickets. He was a bit unlucky to get out when he did as he looked to go over cow corner against an orthodox left-armer turning one into him, a diving catch at deep midwicket by Virandeep Singh ruining those plans.

BAJWA PLAYS SAFE BEFORE THROWING CAUTION TO WIND

Also playing his first match of the tour, Dilpreet Bajwa took his time early and showed plenty of respect for the bowlers with 10 runs off his first 26 balls. Once he had his eye in, Bajwa took particular liking to Malaysia’s spinners and made up for lost time in a hurry with 51 runs coming off his next 35 balls.

Consistently relying on short-arm jabs, the vast majority of Bajwa’s runs came in front of the wicket with the exceptions coming via either a sweep or reverse sweep. Bajwa holed out in the 30th over with Canada at a comfortable 199/5.

It’s really commendable on the part of both Kirton and Bajwa that they were able to come into a match that had the pressure of a final having not played a match on tour yet – not to mention playing indoors for the past three months – and stitching together crucial runs for the team.

MOVVA EXTENDS GOOD FORM

Shreyas Movva followed up a thrill-a-minute 54 off 35 against Hong Kong in the previous match with 52 off 35 in the final.

Moving in and around his crease just as much as he did in the previous match, Movva further bolstered his bragging rights on being Canada’s most inventive batter with a switch hit in the 32nd over that went for four. Canada’s wicket-keeper also had one pull off a fast bowler that went fine behind the wicket for six that would have brought a smile to Suryakumar Yadav’s face.

Having come in at 124/5 after 23.1 overs and the well set Kirton heading back to the dugout, Movva’s 75-run partnership off 41 balls was pivotal in Canada ultimately crossing the 240-mark in a 34-over match. Coach Pubudu Dassanayake must be thrilled with how important Movva has proven in finishing the innings strong as a further 44 runs came from the final four overs.

FIERY BHAGWAN LEADS BOWLING EFFORT

One thing is clear, backing down is not an option for Uday Bhagwan. He’s got the prototypical mean streak that you love to see in a fast bowler and at 6-foot-2, generates healthy bounce off the pitch to keep batters on their toes.

Bhagwan looked to put Canada in control early by trapping opener Syed Aziz plumb in front, leaving Malaysia at 22/2 after 3.5 overs. An excellent stand of 131 ensued courtesy Sharvin Muniandy’s run-a-ball 70 and Ahmad Faiz’s 67 off 55, but after Bin Zafar provided the initial breakthrough with the dismissal of Faiz, it was Bhagwan who came back into the attack to provide another wicket and put Canada back in control again.

Bhagwan picked up a fourth wicket in the 30th over, and despite the match not going in his side’s favour, he can take a lot of confidence from a top bowling effort in conditions that were tailormade for batting.

LACK OF BOWLING DEPTH PROVES COSTLY

With Bin Zafar coming out to bat at No. 10, it was evident that Canada had opted for extra batting depth in this rain-curtailed match. By the very end, the lack of bowling depth came back to haunt them.

Malaysia was 195/6 with Zubaidi Zulfikle struggling to get going and Vijay Unni the new batter at the crease. 49 runs were needed at this stage off the final four overs, leaving Canada slightly ahad.Dillon Heyliger bolstered Canada’s chances with a quality over peppering the ball just short of a length and outside off stump to concede just four runs. The equation was now down to 45 off 18.

After Ajayveer Hundal conceded just four runs off the first three balls of the 32nd over, Malaysia completely turned the match around by squeezing out 28 runs off the next nine balls. There were top edges for six, inside edges beating the keeper for four, and a few extras sprinkled in for good measure.

Bhagwan was left with 13 to defend in the final over, an increasingly difficult task for bowlers in today’s day and age of modern day hitting. A first ball longhop that was sent back over long-on put the writing on the wall for Canada. Beyond Heyliger, Bhagwan, and Bin Zafar’s 20.5 overs, Canada went wicketless in the other 13 overs at a cost of 121 runs. Extras will also be something to rue as 19 of the 26 conceded were in wides while Malaysia only conceded 10 extras in total.

You always want to win as much as possible but the younger players in particular having these experiences to learn from could prove invaluable in the long run.

“It tests your skills and ability to perform under high pressure,” Bin Zafar said after the match. “You want to play these nail-biters but it is disappointing. Certain things that we could have done better but we’ll learn from here and then move on.”