Kirton and Movva Propel Canada as Ireland Suffers Another Loss

Canada’s victory over Ireland was bolstered by a crucial 75-run partnership for the fifth wicket, as Nicholas Kirton (49 off 35 balls) and Shreyas Movva (37 off 36) rescued their team from a precarious 53-4. This impressive stand followed their strong performances against the USA, where they scored 51 and 32 not out, respectively. 

The drop-in pitches at the Long Island venue had faced criticism for producing low scores, as seen in recent matches where Sri Lanka was bowled out for 77 by South Africa, and Ireland and other players, including India's Rohit Sharma and Ireland's Harry Tector, were struck by deliveries that bounced unpredictably. Although the pitch offered bounce and seam movement favouring Ireland's bowlers after they opted to field first, it wasn't as treacherous as in previous games.

In a moment of missed opportunity, Josh Little failed to claim his 150th T20 wicket when Ireland didn’t review a caught-behind appeal against Navneet Dhaliwal in the second over, despite UltraEdge showing a clear deflection off the glove. However, Craig Young (2-32) removed Dhaliwal in the next over, with the batsman chopping the ball to Dockrell at backward point. Despite a shaky start, Kirton and Movva stabilised Canada's innings.

Kirton was particularly aggressive in Young's 16th over, smashing two sixes and a four to accumulate 18 runs. Yet, Canada's progress slowed, managing just 27 runs in the final four overs. Kirton was eventually caught at fine leg by Barry McCarthy (2-24) in the 19th over, and Movva was run out on the last ball attempting a second run.

Ireland struggled with the bat throughout their innings. Captain Paul Stirling (9 off 17) was caught behind off Jeremy Gordon’s bowling in the final over of the powerplay. Soon after, Andy Balbirnie offered a simple return catch to leg-spinner Junaid Siddiqui (1-27) in the seventh over.

The Irish lineup continued to falter, with Lorcan Tucker dismissed via an unnecessary run-out and Curtis Campher falling to a spectacular catch by Aaron Johnson at fine leg off Dillon Heyliger’s (2-18) bowling. Although George Dockrell and Mark Adair built a partnership that reduced the deficit, their efforts were insufficient to prevent another defeat for Ireland.