Canada secure tight Duckworth-Lewis victory

Canada 163 for 4 (Gunasekera 71, Bagai 64) beat Ireland 175 for 9 (Mooney 47, Chohan 3-25) by four runs (on D/L method)
Scorecard

	Canada's captain Ashish Bagai once again made a key contribution © Bryan Vandenburg, Cricket Canada Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Ashish Bagai | Ruvindu Gunasekera Matches: Canada v Ireland at Toronto Series/Tournaments: Ireland tour of Canada Teams: Canada | Ireland

Bad light ruled out what would have been an intriguing final two overs in the first one-dayer in Toronto, but Canada won't be complaining as it secured them a surprise win over Ireland, the leading Associate nation, in a rain-shortened match.

Canada needed 13 off two overs and had just lost two batsmen who had scored half-centuries, Ruvindu Gunasekera and captain Ashish Bagai, when play had to be called off due to bad light. The match had already been curtailed to a 35-over affair after rain had delayed the start by three and a half hours.

Ireland had chosen to bat and despite none of their batsmen making a half-century, they posted a competitive total. Their top scorer was John Mooney, who came in at 78 for 4 and provided some stability with a brisk 47. Their only other batsman to make it past 20 was opener Paul Stirling as Canada's disciplined bowlers, led by Lahore-born fast bowler Khurram Chohan, struck regularly.

Canada's chase got off to a poor start with both openers falling cheaply. Gunasekera, playing his first ODI in two years, and Bagai then put the home side on course for victory with a 140-run third-wicket stand, before both fell in the space of six deliveries, leaving Canada needing a run a ball for the final 16 deliveries. Zubin Surkari and Jimmy Hansra added three off four deliveries before the light was deemed too poor to continue, consigning Ireland to defeat.