T20 WC, NZ beat Ireland, on verge of semi-final spot
New Zealand dished out a 35-run beating to Ireland in their last Super 12 match in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup. Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson smacked a mind-boggling fifty, propelling NZ to 185/6. Meanwhile, Irish quick Joshua Little garnered headlines for snapping up a hat-trick in the 19th over. Paul Stirling (37) helped truncate the chase but the middle-order faltered (150/9). Here's more.
How did the match pan out?
Put to bat, NZ had a desirable start with openers Finn Allen and Devon Conway stitching a 52-run stand within the powerplay. After a couple of setbacks, Williamson was joined by Daryl Mitchell (31*), and the pair helped the Kiwis reach a dominating total. Chasing 186, Andrew Balbirnie's men showed intent but eventually threw the towel, credits to the Kiwi spinners.
Maiden fifty for Williamson in the tournament
Williamson shut down the criticism over his strike rate with his 16th fifty in the format. He was watchful at the start but accelerated just at the right time. The Kiwi skipper fell prey to Little in the penultimate over for a 35-ball 61. His knock was laced with five boundaries and three maximums. Williamson has steered to 2,357 runs at 32.73.
Hat-trick for Joshua Little
Left-armer Little became the second Irish and sixth bowler overall to claim a hat-trick in T20 WC. He dismissed Williamson, Jimmy Neesham, and Mitchell Santner on successive deliveries in the 19th over to get the feat. Little ended with figures of 3/22 in his four overs. He has now taken 39 T20I wickets in 2022, the most for a bowler in a calendar year.
New Zealand yet to beaten by Ireland
The Black Caps now own a perfect 5-0 win-loss record against the Irishmen in T20I encounters. Their maiden meeting was in the 2009 T20 WC, where the Kiwis stamped an 83-run win. Back in August earlier this year, NZ toured Ireland for a three-match series, which they won by a 3-0 margin.
Kiwi spinners dictate the show
The Kiwi spinners proved to be a handful for Ireland. The duo of Sodhi and Santner uprooted the rivals' top-four batters, thereby putting the chase out of the equation. Sodhi (2/31) raced to 109 T20I scalps at 21.96, steering clear of Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga (107). Meanwhile, Santner (2/26) equaled Bhuvneshwar Kumar's wicket-tally (88), while averaging 21.53.
Ferguson runs down the Irish line-up
Seamer Lockie Ferguson's three-fer (3/22) cleared the Irish middle-order. The right-arm quick was wicket-less in his first two overs before bowling a leg-cutter to trump Gareth Delany (10). In the 18th over, he floored Fionn Hand (15) and a dangerous-looking George Dockrell (15-ball 23), thereby racing to 35 wickets at 16.35. Meanwhile, fellow quick Tim Southee collected two wickets.
NZ's leading run-getter in T20 WC
Williamson's fifty saw him race to 653 runs in T20 World Cup, averaging 32.65. It was his third half-century in the history of the tournament. As per ESPNcricinfo, he has become NZ's highest run-getter in T20 WCs, surpassing Brendon McCullum (637) and Martin Guptill (617).
