GT20 Canada: Edmonton Royals thrash Winnipeg Hawks by eight wickets

Edmonton Royals managed to end their winless streak in the ongoing GT20 Canada as they registered a massive eight-wicket victory over Winnipeg Hawks here on Saturday.

Chasing a target of 196 runs, Anshuman Rath and Navneet Dhaliwal provided their side with a brilliant start. Dhaliwal got out after scoring 19 runs but Rath went on to score his half-century.

Dhaliwal's dismissal had brought Mohammad Hafeez out on the field. Hafeez too scored his half-century but soon after Kaleem Sana got hold of him (55).

James Neesham then accompanied Rath and both played brilliantly and kept on adding runs to the scoreboard. Rath (87*) and Neesham (28*) both took their side over the line to secure an eight-wicket victory with 14 balls to spare.

Earlier, Winnipeg Hawks were sent to bat first and had racked up 195 runs for the loss of six wickets after the completion of 20 overs.

Shaiman Anwar and Chris Lynn gave their side an impeccable start as they put up a score of 99 runs in just eight overs. However, in the next over, Shadab Khan took the wicket of Anwar (62). Khan then bowled the 11th over and took two wickets. Lynn (33) and Dwayne Smith (5) were sent back to the pavilion by Khan.

Fall of wickets did not stop as Umar Akmal was given LBW off Neesham's delivery. In the 18th over, Ben Cutting clinched two wickets, getting hold of Sunny Sohal (21) and Kaleem Sana (1). JP Duminy scored unbeaten 48 runs and helped his side finish their inning on 195 runs.

Brief scores: Edmonton Royals 198/2 (Anshuman Rath 87*, Mohammad Hafeez 55, Paul van Meekeren 1-45) defeated Winnipeg Hawks (Shaiman Anwar 62, JP Duminy 48*, Shadab Khan 3-23) by eight wickets.