Day Five - Bhatti complete memorable coup
Despite requiring 115 for the final three wickets, Canada have completed an outstanding victory in front of a small, but elated, crowd in Toronto. With half an hour remaining of the scheduled play, Henry Osinde struck the winning runs as Corrin's gamble to back Morris failed to pay off, and a patient Canadian side secured perhaps their largest victory in first class cricket yet.
The morning session was the dullest of the match so far, with few runs and few chances of wickets. West was brought in midway through, and snapped a blinding caught-and-bowled to dismiss Samad, but Cheema had learnt from his injudicious shots in the first innings and was impenetrable. He took lunch with the best of consience, having made 52.
Davis' luck from the first innings seemed to have deserted him, and even the umpires took no favours; Bastiampillai was clearly lbw to this reporter, standing at square leg, but the appeal was unbelievably turned down by the home umpire. Shortly after, he clearly realised his mistake, and gave Cheema lbw to the umpteenth leave; that sparked some life into the bowling attack, as well as fear of failure into Canada, and some fine catches saw the end of the middle order. Canada crashed to 212 for seven, and with Bagai and Bhatti in, the last recognised batsmen, it seemed as though Cricket Web should cruise.
The leg-spinners Morris and Corrin both induced an edge off Bhatti immediately after tea, but neither wicket-keeper Chaulk nor fine leg Davis could hold the easy chances. With three wickets left to take, Corrin entrusted the pace and swing to do the job, but instead, Canada found plenty of balls they could leave alone, only swinging at the truly dreadful deliveries. By 5pm, Bagai and Bhatti both neared fifty, the required target was down to forty, and the home umpire had turned down another stone dead appeal.
With the seamers under pressure to perform, Davis produced an away-swinger to Bagai, which was smashed to West at long on. The hardly recognised Welsh at ten prompted Bhatti to mount an attempt to end the match quickly, and he was twice dropped on the off side off a despairing Davis; two boundaries off Corrin then brought up the half-century, before Davis found two successive outside edges. The first went to the gloves - Welsh gone for two, twenty runs required for the final wicket - but the second was dropped at cover by Young, a very easy chance. The third ball went for a single, and the sixth ball was edged behind again - but this time, Chaulk failed to complete the forward dive, the fourth drop in ten minutes.
Corrin had got rid of Dhaniram and Chauhan, but seemed to lack the confidence in late over bowling, and instead threw the ball to the joker Morris. It paid off somewhat in the first over, but his second flew awry, and two glorious pull shots from Osinde tied the game. The third repeat found the edge of the bat, but it fell down eight metres short of any fielder, Osinde and Bhatti ran the single, and completed the humiliation of the tourists.
Canada 327 for nine (101.4)
Bhatti 60*, Cheema 57, Bagai 52, Samad 47; West 2/63, Davis 2/64, Cunningham 2/67, Corrin 2/69
Canada won by one wicket
Man of the Match: Umar Bhatti (Canada)