Andries Gous scored 58 not out to help the Toronto Nationals win the Global T20 Canada cricket title Sunday with an eight-wicket victory over the defending champion Montreal Tigers.
Batting third, the South African-born U.S. international rescued the innings after Toronto lost its two openers for just 12 runs in response to Montreal's modest total of 96 for nine in the championship game at the CAA Centre.
Gous slammed eight fours in his 49-ball innings. South African Rassie van der Dussen added 30 runs off 34 balls as Toronto finished at 97 for two with 30 balls remaining.
"You make finals and then anything can happen. That's what I told the boys," said Toronto captain Colin Munro, a former New Zealand international. "We came out, we executed today really really well.
"Full credit to our boys. The best team won today."
Toronto won the toss and elected to field. And Montreal batsmen stumbled out of the block.
Guyana's Romario Shepherd took the first Montreal wicket and Australian Jason Behrendorff accounted for the next three as the Tigers stumbled to 42 for seven. South African Corbin Bosch steadied the ship with 35 from 33 balls before he was caught with Montreal at 95 for nine with one ball remaining.
Montreal, which had six of its batsmen dismissed for less than 10 runs, finished at 96 for nine in its 20 overs.
Munro lasted just two balls, removed lbw (leg before wicket) by Azmatullah Omarzai for zero. And fellow opener Unmukt Chand lasted just five balls, bowled by Bosch for four with Toronto at 12 for two in the second over.
Behrendorff was named player of the match, conceding just eight runs in his four overs bowling with three wickets.
Shepherd was named bowler of the tournament, with 14 wickets to his credit. Scotland's George Munsey won top run-scorer honours while Dilpreet Bajwa, who is in the Netherlands with Canada, was named emerging player of the tournament.
Junaid Siddique of the Toronto Nationals, from the United Arab Emirates, was named Dean Jones Player of the Tournament
There was some controversy at the business end of the six-team tournament.
Montreal was slated to play the Brampton Wolves on Friday in a battle of the tournament's top two teams, with the winner moving directly into Sunday's final and the loser facing either No. 3 Bangla Tigers Mississauga or No. 4 Toronto, who were slated to meet Friday in an elimination game, on Saturday to decide the second finalist.
The Montreal-Brampton game was washed out and the Mississauga-Toronto elimination game was delayed due to rain.
After several pitch inspections, the umpires and match referee decided that a "super over" would be played at 7:30 p.m. local time to decide the elimination game. Munro, the Nationals captain, was present for the subsequent coin toss but Bangla Tigers Mississauga skipper Shakib Al Hasan, apparently unhappy at the decision, opted not to attend.
Tournament officials then awarded the match to Toronto, which subsequently beat Brampton to advance to the final.
Montreal defeated the Surrey Jaguars by five wickets in the 2023 championship game.
