Led by Nicholas Kirton’s 49, Canada secured a stunning 12-run win over Ireland on Friday – their first ever in the T20 World Cup. Having posted the highest total so far at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in this tournament – 137/7 – Canada restricted Ireland to 125 for 7.
The difference: The middle overs
The phase in which Canada steadied their innings and set the base for a late flourish is where Ireland lost five wickets as well as the backbone of their batting. Even a late assault in the death overs didn’t prove enough to compensate for the damage in the middle overs.
Canada
Powerplay: Canada make slow start
CAN: 37/2 (RR: 6.11; 6x4s, 0x6s)
Canada openers Aaron Johnson and Navneet Dhaliwal departed in the powerplay as Ireland maintained a disciplined line and length. After a slow start, Johnson got a move on in the fourth over with a couple of boundaries, including a streaky inside edge but they were largely cautious with their strokeplay early on.
Middle overs: Canada set steady base
CAN: 55/2 (RR: 6.11; 4x4s, 0x6s)
Craig Young struck soon after the Powerplay. Pargat Singh, after a good start, looked to give a charge but ended up getting caught at deep third. Soon enough Dilpreet Bajwa offered a return catch to Delany. Shreyas Movva and Kirton resurrected the innings, and even as the scoring rate didn’t go up, they set a base for a strong finish.
Death overs: Kirton provides late flourish
CAN: 45/3 (RR: 9.00; 3x4s, 2x6s)
With a steady base to bank on, Kirton took the attack to Young in the 16th over, starting out with a lofted six down the ground and then glanced a delivery down the legside for a boundary. Attempts to sustain the attack didn’t yield the desired results but they managed to push towards a competitive total.
Ireland
Poweplay: Ireland make steady start in chase
IRE: 31/1 (RR: 5.11; 2x4s, 0x6s)
Stroke-making wasn’t easy early on with the ball moving around a bit. A couple of poor deliveries were duly put away for boundaries, but there weren’t as many opportunities to cash in on. With the dot balls piling up, Paul Stirling lost patience and edged one to the ‘keeper in the last over of the powerplay
Middle overs: Canada bowlers break the chase
IRE: 43/5 (RR: 4.77; 1x4s, 0x6s)
A superb, disciplined bowling performance coupled with some fine efforts on the field allowed Canada to take control of the contest. With the pitch not offering much assistance to the batters, and the required rate piling up, the pressure started to show. Some panic runs and panic shots backfired as Canada ripped through the Irish middle order. Dillon Heylinger picked up a brace in that period.
Death overs: Ireland counter attack but fall short
IRE: 51/1 (RR: 10.20; 5x4s, 2x6s)
George Dockrell and Mark Adair attempted to revive the chase. Junaid Siddiqui and Kaleem Sana bore the brunt of their counterattack. However, by then the game had went far beyond what they could achieve on the slow pitch. They did manage to take their score over run-a-ball but that wasn’t enough to prevent Canada from registering a historic win.
Brief Scores: Canada 137/7 in 20 overs (Nicholas Kirton 49, Shreyas Movva 37; Barry McCarthy 2-24, Craig Young 2-32) beat Ireland 125/7 in 20 overs (Mark Adair 34, George Dockrell 30*; Jeremy Gordon 2-16, Dillon Heylinger 2-18) by 12 runs
