Maple Leaf North-West Ground A (Bahamas won toss; match reduced to nine overs): Bermuda beat Bahamas by 26 runs

Player of the match Delray Rawlins struck a brutal unbeaten 68 off 32 balls, his third-highest score in T20 Internationals, as Bermuda completed a tournament double over Bahamas and picked up their third straight victory at the ICC T20 World Cup Americas Regional Final.

The win means Cal Waldron’s side remain in with an outside chance of qualifying for the T20 World Cup should Canada slip up or rain intervenes in Bermuda’s favour in the remaining matches.

In a match reduced to nine overs after a lengthy rain delay, Rawlins showed his class by timing the ball well, as he stroked three fours and seven sixes to power Bermuda to 114 for six.

The former captain, who was pushed up the order after batting at No 4 against Cayman Islands, stood tall at the crease while wickets were tumbling at the other end.

Bahamas, aided by a fortuitous yet entertaining 30-ball 56 from their captain Gregory Taylor, could manage only 88 for two.

“I’m lucky to have a pretty decent bat and the balls came into the middle of the bat,” Rawlins said.

“My batting position is dependent on the game situation. It’s about giving myself more time and obviously cashing in when I get balls I can hit.

“The wicket was dry even after the rain, there was nothing untoward. Obviously there was a little bit of wind so you had to factor that in, but the wickets have been good the whole week.”

Bermuda did not enjoy a great start after being asked to take first strike with Festus Benn picking up two wickets in the second over. Captain Terryn Fray top edged into the gloves of Julio Jemison and Onias Bascome followed five balls later when he picked out Kervon Hinds.

Hesitation led to Marcus Scotland being run out but Rawlins was not letting the wickets falling at the other end trouble him as the left-hander belted Dwight Weakley for two consecutive sixes and a four in a fifth over that went for 18 runs.

The former captain punished anything loose and reached his first 50 of the tournament after facing 24 balls, getting to that mark with a six off Gregory Taylor.

Off spinner Marc Taylor got two in two in his second over, Jonté Smith falling to a great catch by Gregory Taylor before Zeko Burgess departed for a first-ball duck.

Hinds had conceded four in his first over but he gave away 22 runs in the last over of the Bermuda innings, as Rawlins and Derrick Brangman cut loose.

While Chare Smith dismissed Marc Taylor in the second over and Brangman removed Hinds, Bermuda’s fielding left a lot to be desired with a number of dropped catches.

Bermuda felt hard done by when Gregory Taylor should have been given run out, but the opening batter offered another chance off Brangman’s bowling, which was put down by Jonté Smith.

Burgess, who has given the opposition batters a tough time with the new ball, was only introduced into the attack in the seventh over, with Fray addressing the reasoning for not unleashing the fast bowler much earlier.

“The thought process was trying to get the spinners through and obviously the spinners get through their overs much faster,” the Bermuda captain said.

“It then brightened up a bit so Zeko came on, but we were just trying to make sure that we got through that five-over period.”

In the second match of the day Canada picked up a fourth victory on the spin when they beat Cayman Islands by 42 runs in an encounter reduced to five overs per side after a rain delay.

The four teams take a break on Friday before returning to action on Saturday and Sunday.