The ICC Test Championship features nine teams competing in a two-year cycle of matches, culminating in a two-team final to determine the winner. New Zealand won the inaugural competition in June 2021 with a thrilling victory over India.
The 50-over World Cup, which has been contested since 1975, is much older. Australia holds the record for the most wins, having emerged victorious on five occasions (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015). In 2019, England won the championship in a dramatic super-over victory over New Zealand at Lord's, inspired by Ben Stokes.
The shortest form of the game is T20, which has become a global sensation with several highly lucrative competitions that are popular worldwide. Australia is the current world champion, having won the 2021 tournament.
Extraordinary results call for extraordinary performances and on a day when Canada moved to the top of the ICC Men's ODI World Cup League 2 table with a perfect 3-0 win, Harsh Thaker had a day to remember.
The 26-year-old all-rounder scored his maiden ODI century - an unbeaten 111 off 113 - and the first of this League 2 phase for any team, leading Canada to a solid total of 241/6 in 49.4 overs due to rain. This was a rain-shortened match in Dubai.
UAE fell eight runs short of their target of 237 in 46 overs despite putting up a strong fight. This was primarily due to Dilon Heyliger's impressive figures of 4-47 in 10 overs. Thaker also made a valuable contribution with the ball, bowling nine overs for just 33 runs and taking a wicket. As expected, Thaker was awarded the Player of the Match.
Playing XI: Aaron Johnson, Srimantha Wijeyeratne, Pargat Singh, Navneet Dhaliwal, Harsh Thaker, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva, Saad Bin Zafa, Dilon Heyliger, Ammar Khalid, Uday Bhagwan.
Top order restricted
Aaron Johnson and Srimantha Wijeyeratne provided a solid start at the top of the order, putting on 39 runs in 6.3 overs for the first wicket.
However, Canada suffered a mini-collapse, slumping to 60/3 and then 88/4 after 21.3 overs. Unlike previous matches, where Wijeyeratne has gone on to cross fifty and someone from the middle-order like Pargat Singh or Nicholas Kirton carries the baton thereafter, the middle-order failed to deliver in this match.
Wijeyeratne flicked a delivery wide of off stump but it went straight to the keeper. Singh was dismissed by an in-swinger that took the inside edge to the keeper. Johnson holed out to mid-off as he tried in vain to get over the infield and Navneet Dhaliwal pulled left-arm orthodox spinner Aayan Afzal Khan straight to short midwicket.
With the chasing side having won every match of this series to this point, Canada faced a tough challenge to maintain their undefeated record.
Canada saved by Thaker
Proper context is necessary to fully appreciate Thaker's remarkable performance in this moment. It is important to note that during both the Hong Kong and Nepal tours, Thaker had only averaged 15.17 with the bat in seven innings. He was dismissed for just eight in the opening match of this tour against UAE and then had a brief stay at the crease, finishing off a chase against Scotland with an unbeaten 10.
With only a few runs to his name before this match, there was immense pressure on the batsman when the score was 88/4. However, he was joined by an in-form Kirton at the crease, and the pair knew that a partnership was imperative. If they could get themselves set, there would be time to accelerate and catch up later in terms of the run rate.
With wicket preservation as the primary goal, Canada scored just 35 runs off the next 81 balls. The most important thing, though, was that they did not lose a wicket. With 15 overs remaining and six wickets in hand, there was an opportunity to take control.
After facing pressure and scoring 40 off 67 with only one boundary, Thaker broke free with a beautiful lofted straight drive over fast bowler Zahoor Khan's head for six in the 36th over and continued to dominate. He scored 71 runs off his final 46 balls, hitting four fours and two sixes. This was the main reason why Canada managed to score 118 runs in the last 15 overs, reaching a total of 241.
Credit should also be given to Kirton for his contribution to the partnership, which added 84 runs in 119 balls. Although Kirton's score of 26 off 57 balls with no boundaries may appear unimpressive on the scorecard, it was a crucial innings given the match situation and the required run rate.
Thaker brought up his century by pulling a full toss to short midwicket, where there was initially no run, but an overthrow after an attempted run-out at the bowler's end allowed Thaker to take a single and reach his century. He raised both bat and helmet towards the Canadian dressing room, looked to the heavens, and hugged his captain at the other end. Together, they added 44 runs off the final 30 balls. This was an innings of pure class and steely nerves.
Battle of the middle overs for Canada
Canada's batting had a decent start, but UAE had an excellent start with 56 runs in the first 10 overs without losing a wicket.
At that moment, taking wickets was crucial, and Heyliger provided the first breakthrough with a short ball in the corridor of uncertainty. Tanish Suri tried to fend it off but ended up feathering it to Wijeyeratne behind the stumps.
UAE's other opener and captain Muhammad Waseem appeared to be in control, particularly after hitting Bin Zafar for six over deep midwicket. However, Bin Zafar responded with a ball that pitched just short of a length on leg stump, inducing a flick shot that turned sharply, took the outside edge, and went straight to Johnson at slip. There was some back-and-forth between the two captains, and Canada's leading man emerged victorious.
After Thaker took the wicket of Chundangapoyil Rizwan, a turning point in Canada's bowling, another crucial moment came when Vriitya Aravind was run out for 51. At that point, UAE was still in a strong position at 170/3 in the 37th over. Rahul Chopra hit the ball straight to point. Aravind ran for a single when there was none. Although the initial throw missed the stumps at the keeper's end, good backing up ensured that the ball made its way to the bowler's end with both batters stranded at the other end. After a dangerous-looking 49-run partnership, it was just the bit of luck and gift Canada needed.
At the death, Heyliger leads Canada
Canada conceded only 71 runs off the last 78 balls. Heyliger's aggressive bowling led to three wickets and a run-out, while his teammates maintained a tight fielding. Heyliger bowled five of the final 13 overs and took 3/30 in this spell, including a double-wicket penultimate over. This left Ammar Khalid with only 14 runs to defend in the final over, bowling to the No. 9 and 10 UAE batters.
Khalid performed exceptionally well in the final over, delivering three yorkers, two slower bouncers, and one attempted yorker on the final ball. Although the last delivery missed the mark and resulted in a very low full toss, which went for two runs, only five runs were conceded in total, including a bye.
Canada can take pride in this win as the chasing side had won all three matches in Dubai up to this point. UAE would have been pleased to win the toss and elect to bowl first. With the team at the top of the table and the ability to win whether batting or bowling first, confidence should be high going into a tough match against Scotland on Thursday.