Canada's four-wicket win over Malaysia got their 50-over tri-series in Hong Kong off to a winning start.
After winning the toss, Canada elected to bowl first and dominated the middle overs, restricting Malaysia to just 162 in 40.5 overs. The bowling performance was even more impressive considering their opponents had just posted 277/4 from 50 overs against Hong Kong.
There were some tense moments in the chase, but in the end, Canada's batting depth shone through as they chased down the target in just 28.2 overs. It was a significant boost to their net run rate ahead of Saturday's match against Hong Kong.
Saad Bin Zafar, who scored an unbeaten 30 off 28 in the chase after bowling eight overs for just 15 runs and taking two wickets, was named Player of the Match for his outstanding performance with both bat and ball.
Below are the playing XI for the day, followed by five takeaways from the win over Malaysia
Canada Playing XI: Aaron Johnson, Yuvraj Samra, Navneet Dhaliwal, Ajayveer Hundal, Srimantha Wijeyeratne, Udaybir Walia, Saad Bin Zafar, Dillon Heyliger, Uday Bhagwan, Sahib Malhotra, Ishwarjot Sohi.
HEYLIGER'S ON THE MOVE
With a brilliant opening spell of four overs for just 11 runs and the first wicket, Dillon Heyliger set the tone early for Canada. Heyliger found his rhythm from the first over, his left-arm and right-arm deliveries forcing the Malaysian openers to look elsewhere for runs.
Heyliger picked up another wicket in the first over of his second spell, taking a sharp diving catch to dismiss Vijay Unni for Sahib Malhotra's first wicket of the match. Malhotra returned the favour later with a diving catch of his own. Heyliger took his third wicket. In a rush to finish the job, Heyliger then took his fourth and Malaysia's final wicket off the next ball.
CAPTAIN LEADS SPIN ATTACK
Saad Bin Zafar relished the opportunity to swing the match in Canada's favour on a pitch that offered plenty of assistance to the spinners. Introduced into the attack in the 10th over, Bin Zafar's run-a-ball 40 when he took the wicket of opposition captain Virandeep Singh put Canada firmly in control. Bin Zafar's left-arm orthodox regularly struck the right-hander's outside edge. His speciality was an arm-break delivery that went straight to the pad and Singh played for the turn when there was none.
Bin Zafar's spell continued to bamboozle the Malaysian batsmen, leaving them in a precarious position of 84/4 after 20 overs, with Malaysia looking well, placed at 56/1 after the first 10 overs. The Canadian captain bowled seven consecutive overs in his first spell. He conceded only 14 runs and took two wickets.
He was ably supported by the tidy off-spin of Navneet Dhaliwal, who conceded just 13 runs from his six overs. Dhaliwal had Zubaidi Zulkifle run out at the non-striker's end with a drive that went straight back to him. Sahib Malhotra was the day's third spinner to attack, his leg-spin taking a solitary wicket at the cost of 40 runs from seven overs. He was a little unlucky with a couple of deliveries that hit the outside edge and one that took an edge to where the first slip would have been. The fielder had just moved from the first slip to a wider second slip position.
AJ LEADING THE CHASE WITH BOTH LUCK AND GOOD FORTUNE
They say it's better to be lucky than good, but Aaron Johnson's motto on the day seemed to be that perhaps it's best to be both good and lucky. From the very first ball, Johnson was in no mood to just hang around and his dazzling strokeplay made life a lot easier for the batsmen who followed him.
He was given a reprieve at slip in the very first over. Johnson made the most of his second life and plundered the Malaysian attack all over the ground. In particular, a lofted drive over long-off for six in the 10th over would have made Rohit Sharma gasp in awe.
Johnson remained positive throughout his innings, hitting seven fours and four sixes in a superb 67 off 52 despite the early wickets of Yuvraj Samra and Dhaliwal. His bravery earned him a third life when he was dropped in the deep shortly after reaching his half-century. But Muhammid Amir eventually held on for Malaysia, sending the opener back to the pavilion with 54 runs to spare.
AFTER MIDDLE-ORDER WOBBLE, WALIA, BIN ZAFAR CALM NERVES
Canada was a little wobbly at 33/2 after 5.5 overs, but Ajayveer Hundal showed some good composure to help steady the ship in a 40-run partnership with Johnson. It looked as if Srimantha Wijeyeratne and Johnson would take Canada home as the pair put on 36 in quick succession, but both batsmen were dismissed in quick succession to take the men in red and black from a comfortable 109/3 in 17.3 overs to a nervy 119/5 just 16 balls later.
Leading from the front with the ball, Bin Zafar soaked up some pressure before breaking away towards the end, finishing the innings with a four and a six. His unbeaten 30 off 28 came with fine support from Udaybir Walia, whose 26 off 31 included four boundaries and a six. The pair got Canada off to a winning start, adding 48 off 49 balls for the sixth wicket.
Credit must be given to Malaysia for continuing their form and resilience from the opening match to put Canada under some pressure in the chase, but some of that was down to the Canadians not having played outdoors for three months, arriving in Hong Kong only a few days ago and still battling jet lag.