HAMILTON, Bermuda, (CMC) – Bermuda’s worst fears were realised when they stumbled at the final hurdle, as Canada trounced them by 39 runs to clinch their spot in next year’s Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States.
In a contest reduced to 18 overs per side due to rain at the National Stadium, Bermuda failed to chase down 133, collapsing to 93 all out in the penultimate over.

Bermuda entered the final fixture of the ICC T20 World Cup Americas Final in pole position after defeating Canada in the tournament opener a week ago and then playing unbeaten to top the table.
However, Canada also played undefeated since their opening loss, while racking up a superior net run rate.

The scenario left Saturday’s game as a do-or-die affair for both teams, after Friday’s penultimate round of games were washed out by heavy rains associated with the passage of Tropical Storm Philippe.
Choosing to bat first, Canada battled their way to 132 for four with opener Navneet Dhaliwal top-scoring with 45 from 38 deliveries and Barbadian Nicholas Kirton blasting a 10-ball unbeaten 26.

Dhaliwal, a 34-year-old right-hander, struck four fours and a six as he put on 28 for the first wicket with Aaron Johnson (15), 28 for the second wicket with Pargat Singh (9) and a further 39 for the third wicket with Harsh Thaker (21).
When Dhaliwal perished at the start of the 16th over, Kirton picked up the slack in a cameo comprising a brace of fours and a six as he posted 37 in an unbroken fifth- wicket partnership with Dillon Heyliger (10 not out), to rally the back end of the innings.

In reply, Bermuda suffered an early setback with the loss of Tre Manders for one in the second over with two runs on the board.
New batsman Terryn Fray, who top-scored with 30 from 35 balls with two fours and two sixes, then led a recovery in a 50-run, second-wicket stand with opener Kamau Leverock who struck a four and a six in a run-a-ball 23.

Once the partnership was broken, however, things fell apart quickly as left-arm pacer Kaleem Sala (3-4) and former Guyana first-class fast bowler Jeremy Gordon (3-6) dismantled the run chase with three-wicket bursts.
Off-spinner Nikhil Dutta supported with two for 16 as Bermuda lost their last nine wickets for 41 runs, Allan Douglas’s 13-ball 22 coming in vain.