CHENNAI: Chepauk witnessed the birth of a new star in 19-year-old Yuvraj Singh Samra on Tuesday. The teenager, named after former India star Yuvraj Singh, scored a 65-ball 110 but it was not enough to prevent New Zealand from winning by 8 wickets and advancing to the Super 8s.
Southpaw Samra (65b 110; 11×4, 6×6) became the youngest run-scorer in the T20 World Cup, helping Canada post a competitive score of 173/4. However, New Zealand, led by stand-in captain Daryl Mitchell, chased down the target with 29 balls to spare. After falling behind to 30-2, Glenn Phillips (36b 76*; 4×4, 6×6) and Rachin Ravindra (39b; 4×4, 3×6 59*) put up an unbeaten 146 for the third wicket to take New Zealand home.
The in-form Phillips soon showed his quality, playing a series of knocks, with Lachin playing second fiddle. New Zealanders will be relieved that Lachin is back in form. The left-hander waited for the loose ball to be collected and completed the chase with a boundary.
However, the day belonged to Samra, who co-hosted the innings. He started the game cautiously and then came up big in the final round of the Powerplay, scoring 18 points to take Canada to 50 points without a loss. Jimmy Neesham took the catch and Samra hit three fours and a six. He then chased down the off-spin Cole McConchie, who replaced the unfit Mitchell Santner, and he launched two maximum runs to help the team cross the 100-run mark.
New Zealand finally found the breakthrough they needed. Pacer Kyle Jamieson ended his record-breaking 116-run start when skipper Dilpreet Bajwa’s lob was caught by Phillips at deep extra cover.
Showing no signs of slowing down, Samra continued his attack and the youngster got a reprieve in the 89th over when Matt Henry tipped the ball over the ropes at long-on.
Score: New Zealand 176/2 beat Canada 173/4 (Samra 110, Bajwa 36, Duffy 1-25) by eight wickets in 15.1 overs (Phillips 76*, Ravindra 59*; Saad 1-29).
