Monank Patel batted like a dream in the final of the North American Cup to pip arch-rivals Canada by six wickets. The USA skipper, who had amassed 195 runs in three innings before the final, carried his purple patch into the decider with a masterful knock of 70 off 44 deliveries. While Monank was the lead protagonist in their chase of 169, Sanjay Krishnamurthy’s timely blitzkrieg of 29 off 16 balls helped USA canter home comfortably with six deliveries to spare.

USA bowlers pin Canada on the mat

Jasdeep Singh, Ayan Desai and Milind Kumar tightened the noose on Canada early, leaving them reeling at 99 for 7 in the 15th over. Jaskaran Buttar, the former India A fast bowler playing his first international tournament for Canada, revived the faltering innings. The 35-year-old’s tantalizing rearguard knock of 60 off 26 deliveries wrestled the momentum back in Canada’s favour at the halfway stage.

Jasdeep Singh and Milind Kumar had Canada in all sorts of trouble within the first nine deliveries of the innings, sending back openers Ali Nadeem and the dangerous Navneet Dhaliwal, who was fresh off a match-winning 68 against USA in the league game. Yuvraj Samra flexed his muscles against Saurabh Netravalkar, who has been a shadow of himself in this tournament, carting him for a couple of boundaries in his first over. Just as Shreyas Movva and Samra looked to rebuild, Milind struck back by dislodging Samra’s leg stump off the final ball of the PowerPlay.

Conceding just six runs in his first eight deliveries, Ayan Desai reaped the rewards for his nagging line, as Movva hit one straight to point. Saad Bin Zafar’s straight six off Desai in the 11th over ended Canada’s painful boundaryless five-over stretch. A couple of balls later, Harsh Thaker tried to manufacture a cut shot devoid of merit, only to lose his leg stump. Yasir Mohammad, the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, ended Saad’s resistance by having him holed out at deep midwicket. Jasdeep came back to uproot Ravinderpal Singh, Canada’s last recognized batter, with Canada needing a miracle to bail them out.