Montreal Tigers win 2023 Global T20 Canada cricket tournament

The Montreal Tigers professional cricket team defeated the Surrey Jaguars to win the 2023 Global T20 Canada cricket tournament in Brampton Ontario on August 6th.

“It’s an awesome feeling and what a game it was,” said Srimantha Wijeratne, a wicketkeeper and batter for the Montreal Tigers.

“I’m absolutely thrilled and proud of our team,” said Mudasser Akbar, the team’s CEO.

The final of GT20 tournament played between Montreal Tigers and Surrey Jaguars held at the CAA centre in Brampton, on 6th August 2023.
(Photo credit: Manpreet Sidhu/Focus Sports/GT20)

The team won by a score of 135 to 130 when Jamaican star Andre Russell hit the match-winning six on the last ball.

“We didn’t even see where the ball went. It was just as soon as it connected with the bat, everyone was just running off,” explained Wijeratne. “I saw a little bit of clips of us running. It was just like everyone in unison running and it was amazing.”

Montreal Tigers during the final of GT20 played between Montreal Tigers and Surrey Jaguars. (Photo credit: Manpreet Sidhu/Focus Sports/ GT20)

“I absolutely enjoyed celebrating on the field. You know raising the trophy, looking at the crowd and fans that have come to cheer for the Montreal Tigers,” said Akbar, adding, “I mean the fans are the ones that we play for.”

The Tigers beat out five other Canadian teams to win the league title.

“Looking at the team we had and how they had picked the team, a lot of the guys were telling us we were favorites going in.” said Wijeratne. “You know, having guys like Russell, Rutherford, who’s also done well in the past in Canada.”

Chris Lynn of Montreal Tigers receives the winning trophy on 6th August 2023. (Photo credit: Pal Pillai/Focus Sports/ GT20)

When CityNews Montreal spoke to the team ahead of the tournament in July, they believed one of their biggest strengths was their powerful batsmen, but the team proved to be very well rounded and showed great chemistry.

“From the start, it was just like it was like a sense of everyone knew each other somewhere down the line and the ownership too, they were amazing. It was a pretty family-oriented team,” shared Wijeratne.

“Players came out with exceptional skills,” added Akbar. “The coaching staff, they meticulously worked hard on training and planning out strategies, match by match.”

Carlos Brathwaite of Montreal Tigers bats during match 19 of GT20 season 3 played between Montreal Tigers and Vancouver Knights held at the CAA centre in Brampton, on 1st August 2023. (Photo credit: Focus Sports/ GT20)

As far as repeating as champions next year, Akbar predicts they will win again with a similar approach.

“I don’t have a magic ball to do that, but I predict that the Montreal Tigers are also going to win the 2024 championship trophy.”

Akbar also emphasized that getting a cricket stadium built in Montreal is still a priority as there is currently no professional cricket ground in the city for the team to play in, so they currently can only play away games.