Canada 137 for 7 (Kirton 49, Movva 37, McCarthy 2-24, Young 2-32) beat Ireland 125 for 7 (Adair 34, Dockrell 30*, Gordon 2-16, Heyliger 2-18) by 12 runs
The Associate has struck twice in two days. Group C and D might have been the groups of death leading up to the T20 World Cup 2024 but for the moment the blockbuster results are coming out of Group A. After Pakistan shocked USA in Dallas on Thursday, it was Canada’s turn to stun a Full Member side on Friday as they beat Ireland by 12 runs in New York to record their first-ever T20 World Cup win.
Gordon helps Canada take powerplay honours
On an uneven surface and a sluggish outfield, a chase of 138 was always going to be a tricky ask. Canada’s defence did not get off to the best of starts with Kaleem Sana unable to control the early movement. But Gordon understood the lengths to bowl on the surface from the get-go and the rest of the bowlers followed suit. Ireland could only manage two fours in the first six overs – one in the first over and one in the sixth. In between, there were plenty of swishes and misses from Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie and hardly any decent connections.
Gordon’s relentless lengths got the better of Stirling in the final over of the powerplay when he could only manage a top edge on his attempted heave with the wicketkeeper taking a comfortable catch. He fell for an uncharacteristic 9 off 17 and Ireland’s innings went downhill thereon.
