Canada defeats Ireland by 12 runs

NEW YORK: Canada defeated Ireland by 12 runs in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Friday, after a humiliating defeat against the United States (US) previously.

The spectators at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York had a great time watching the match between the Leprechauns and the Canucks.

Read more: ICC concedes New York stadium issues ahead of Pak-India clash

Canada has risen to third place in group A on the points table with two points, surpassing former world champions Pakistan. Meanwhile, Ireland has yet to secure any points and is set to face the US next.

Ireland won the toss and chose to bowl. The Canadian batters gave Irish bowlers a sound thrashing from the start. Nicholas Kirton scored 49, just one run shy of a half-century. Similarly, Shreyas Movva scored 37 off 36 balls and Pargat Singh scored 16 runs off 14 balls.

However, the Irish bowlers were able to hold their own. Barry McCarthy and Craig Young wHere able to take two wickets each, while Gareth Delany took a single wicket, while conceding 10 runs in two overs.

Canada set the target of 137 runs at a loss of seven wickets by the 20th over, that the Irish batters were not able to meet.

The Irish batters managed to score all of 125 by the last over, with Mark Adair being the highest scorer at 34 runs (at a loss of 24 balls). George Dockrell trailed behind with 30 off 23, and Andrew Balbirnie scoring 17 runs off 19 balls.

Canadian bowlers were able to restrict their rival’s run rate, with Jeremy Gordon clinching two wickets while conceding only 16 runs in allotted four overs. Similarly, Dllion Hayliger also took two wicket but yielded 18 runs in four overs. While, Saad bin Zafar clinched a single wicket while offering 22 runs to rivals in his four overs.

Nicholas Kirton was awarded player of the match for his almost half-century.

Despite the win, concerns remain about the quality of the pitch and ground conditions at the venue. In particular, as the highly awaited India versus Pakistan match is approaching.

Read more: Race walk: Garcia-Caro celebrates too early, loses bronze medal

Several players who have played on the notorious pitch observed issues. Nicholas Kirton even noted the issues posed but adapted his gameplay accordingly.