Chennai, February 17 – Despite a spirited effort, Canada fell short against a dominant New Zealand, but captain Dilpreet Bajwa was proud of his team’s historic performance, particularly the outstanding innings by 19-year-old Yuvraj Samra. Canada posted a competitive 173/4, driven by a 100-run opening partnership between Bajwa and Samra, before New Zealand successfully chased it down.
“We were a bit confident. Of course, we were missing one bowler, Kaleem Sana, but we were confident that the ball would spin. When Bin (Saad Bin Zafar) and the other bowler were bowling, the ball was spinning. But unfortunately, that didn't work out. The missing bowler affected us,” he said after the loss against New Zealand.
Bajwa’s 36 off 39 balls laid the foundation for Samra’s record-breaking innings, and he praised his partner’s achievement.
“We were struggling in the top order. In the last two games, we were losing our four or five wickets. So, our plan was to dominate the game and play as many overs as possible. And I think, hats off to Yuvraj. He is the youngest player in the World Cup and he finished with a hundred in this match. I think it’s a very proud moment for him. And I think it’s a very proud moment for all Canadians that we had a 100-run partnership with the opening pair against one of the biggest teams,” Bajwa said.
Bajwa acknowledged the lessons learned from competing against a full member nation, as he said, “When we play against these teams that we are lacking as associate nations, we quickly realized that in the last two games, we were losing wickets, but we planned accordingly and we did well this time,” he added.
Looking at the bigger picture for Associate cricket, Bajwa emphasised the need for more exposure, saying, “We need more cricket against these big teams like full-member nations. When we get that, I think we will compete with them. Now we are just competing, but hopefully, when we get more cricket against these teams, we will be able to beat them. And we have beaten Ireland in the last World Cup, and we are still looking for one here. But, Canadian cricket, I think people will follow our cricket because of Yuvraj. He has a hundred, and we had a big partnership. So now I think people will follow Canadian cricket too.”
Despite the loss, Bajwa remained optimistic about Canada’s next challenge. “We have nothing to lose, and we always have to win. So, I think we will give it our best, and hopefully, we will do well tomorrow,” he said.
