Belgrano Athletic Club Ground, Buenos Aires (Bermuda won toss): Bermuda beat Panama by 60 runs.

A record knock of 103 from Kamau Leverock helped Bermuda clinch qualification from the ICC T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier on Tuesday.

Opening the batting alongside Tre Manders (67 not out), Leverock hit ten fours and six sixes off 58 balls during his innings to become the first Bermudian to score a T20 international century.

Manders and Leverock’s 179-run partnership also set a new national record as well as being the tenth-highest in T20 international history

“It was good to get across the line and reach the century,” Leverock said. “The pitch was a bit slow and so it was hard to get under it at first, but once I got going it became easier.”

Bermuda’s victory ensured the team made it back to home soil for the final ICC T20 World Cup qualifiers in September and Leverock is convinced the squad has the ability to make it to the finals.

“Bermuda has never been short of talent,” he said. We just have to make sure we continue to work hard and do the basics right.”

Captain Delray Rawlins was full of praise for his opening batsman as he extended his unbeaten run in charge of the team.

“Kamau batted out of his skin and for him and Tre [Manders], who showed a lot of maturity, to stay out in the heat as long as they did and hit the way they did was special,” Rawlins said.

“Kamau showed exactly what he is capable of. It was a truly special innings and was just so exciting to watch.

“I can’t fault the performance. We lost only one wicket and I can’t really find any other blemishes at all.

Largely thanks to Leverock’s swashbuckling style, Panama were set a total of 196, and although they showed the most resistance of Bermuda’s opponents so far, they never looked likely to reach that target.

Not content with his record score, Leverock was also the team’s best bowler, taking two wickets for 15 runs, with Rawlins, Zeko Burgess and Justin Pitcher taking one apiece.

But Bermuda took control from the opening moments after winning the toss and choosing to bat first for the third consecutive match, with the opening batsman quickly getting into their rhythm to find boundaries at regular intervals before reaching 63 at the end of the six-over power play.

By the halfway stage of the innings, Leverock had brought up his half century, with Bermuda just nine shy of the 100-run mark and by the end of the next over, Manders had also reached his 50 after hitting Irfan Hafejee for 15 runs, including two sixes.

The scoreboard continued to tick over steadily before Leverock seized his moment in the 18th over, smashing Rahul Ahir for a huge six to bring up his century with a swift single from the next ball etching his name into the history books.

Leverock’s monumental effort finally came to end with the first ball of the next over when he was caught by Mohmad Sohel Patel off the bowling of Anilkumar Natubhai Ahir.

That brought Rawlins to the wicket, who batted out the remaining balls alongside Manders to set Panama a daunting target, but while never threatening to cause an upset, they did at least show some resistance.

Their innings started shakily with the early loss of Mohmad Sohel Patel (9), who was bowled by Leverock with the total at 16-1 after 2.2 overs. Sohel Patel (6) followed two overs later, again bowled by Leverock, with a further 20 runs added to the score.

Mahmud Jasat (16) was dismissed with the very next ball, caught by Jabari Darrell off the bowling of Burgess. Rahul Ahir (15) joined Hafejee with the pair settling the innings before the former fell to Rawlins at the start of the tenth over with the total at 58.

That brought out Anilkumar Natubhai Ahir, who took the game to Bermuda’s bowlers, with his risk-taking deservedly resulting in a half century. He helped Panama surpass the 100-run mark before his partner Hafejee was caught off the bowling of Pitcher to finally end a 71-run partnership between the pair in the penultimate over

After ensuring they finish top of the five-team competition, the pressure is firmly off for Bermuda’s final game of the tournament against Bahamas on Saturday