IRE vs NZ 2nd T20I, Review - New Zealand thump hosts Ireland by 88 runs to seal the series

Ireland subsided to an 88-run defeat in the second T20I against New Zealand, the Black Caps sealing a series win with one game to play. Ireland won the toss and elected to bowl, but Finn Allen looked to attack from the off, pulling his fourth ball, off Craig Young, for six and lofting Barry McCarthy’s first ball high and handsome over the leg-side. He raced to 35 off 20 balls before slicing Josh Little back over the bowler’s head, with McCarthy running in to take an excellent sliding catch.

Allen’s innings aside, Ireland were able to restrict New Zealand well early on. It took until the first ball of the eighth over for a batter other than Allen to find the boundary, with Dane Cleaver driving George Dockrell inside-out over extra cover before pulling Young for six.

Young hit back soon after, with Martin Guptill, in excellent form this tour but kept quiet today, bounced out, pulling straight to fine leg for 11 off 17. Having scored 40-0 off the first four overs, Ireland restricted New Zealand to 34-2 in the next six.

The Black Caps switched gears upon entering the second half of the innings, striking 48 runs between overs 11 and 14. They were particularly severe on McCarthy, Cleaver playing an audacious reverse-scoop for six and Glenn Phillips guiding a more orthodox boundary down to the same third area.

With Phillips also smashing Little over midwicket for six, he seemed set for a repeat of his Player of the Match performance in the first T20I. But Young once again provided the breakthrough, locating the right length to beat Phillips’ attempted off-side stroke and taking out middle stump.

There was no dislodging Cleaver however, who, having taken his time to get set, put together a match-winning innings. He enjoyed one significant slice of good fortune, Lorcan Tucker missing a stumping with the New Zealander on 40, but deserved his maiden international half-century, brought up with flicked six over deep square leg.

With Cleaver muscling the first ball of Young’s final over for six, and he and Daryl Mitchell hitting three fours of the first four balls of the 19th over, it seemed as if New Zealand might be headed towards 190. But an excellent finish from Little and Mark Adair kept the target to 180, keeping Ireland in the contest. Little bounced out Mitchell, the No.5 top-edging and Tucker completing the catch, while a Cleaver slice over backward point was the only boundary Adair conceded in his final over.

Paul Stirling got going straight away in reply, flicking the third ball of the chase off his pads for six. Three more boundaries followed, two hammered through the off-side and one wristed down the leg-side, but his dismissal, lofted without distance to the fielder, precipitated a slide which Ireland failed to halt. Gareth Delany was bowled first ball by Jacob Duffy, with the in-form Harry Tector run out soon after to leave the hosts 27-3 one ball into the fifth over.

Andrew Balbirnie and Curtis Campher both found the fine-leg fence in the sixth over, the captain clipping stylishly and the all-rounder ramping inventively, but the respite was only temporary, with the tumble of wickets soon resuming. Balbirnie drove at a full, wide ball but could only edge behind before Ish Sodhi’s double-strike left Ireland 45-6 and in deep trouble. Tucker was stumped, attempting to slog-sweep and setting off for a single, believing the ball had beaten the keeper before turning back too late, while George Dockrell was caught at slip as New Zealand went on the attack.

Campher tried to keep up the fight, skipping down the track to pump Mitchell Santner down the ground for four, but his resistance was also ended by Sodhi, the leg-spinner catching out the right-hander with some extra bounce and a top-edged cut looping to backward point.

Adair mounted a mini-fightback, lofting Santner over the off-side before hitting Sodhi for two fours and a six in consecutive balls. McCarthy also got in on the act, slapping James Neesham over mid-off and slog-sweeping Michael Bracewell for four.

But in a flash, the game was over. Adair and McCarthy both found the man on the leg-side boundary, with Young offering a simple catch to backward point to give Bracewell, bowling his first T20I over, a hat-trick.

The result confirmed a series win for New Zealand, leading 2-0 with a game to play. The final T20I will take place on Friday, 22 July at the same venue.

MATCH SUMMARY

Ireland v New Zealand, 2nd T20I, Stormont, 20 July 2022

New Zealand 179-4 (20 overs; G Phillips 69*, J Neesham 29*; J Little 4-35)

Ireland 91 (13.5 overs; M Adair 27, P Stirling 21; M Bracewell 3-5)

New Zealand won by 88 runs