150/9 (20.0)
CR : 7.50
185/6 (20.0)
CR : 9.25
New Zealand won by 35 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Kane Williamson
61(35)
19.5
0
T Southee to J Little
Shuffles across the line for a fancy shot and the batter misses on the inside half. Terrific bowling from the bowler.
19.6
1
T Southee to J Little
Pitched up wide outside the off and Josh slaps this away after clearing the front leg and gets just a single. New Zealand win by 35 runs and has made it into the Semi-Finals not officially, but technically.
Over 20
Ireland 150/9
Barry McCarthy6(5)
Joshua Little8(4)
Tim Southee2-29(4.0)
NZ won by 35 runs
12:51 PM IST | And there you go. New Zealand are almost there in the semis. Theoretically, they aren't yet officially qualified, but practically they are in the semifinals!
Earlier in the match, Ireland won the toss and opt to field first. A collective batting effort led by Kane Williamson propelled New Zealand to a score of 185/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Though Finn Allen came out all guns blazing, Devon Conway struggled to time the ball. Allen (32 off 18) was the first one to go on the 6th over as Mark Adair broke the 52-run opening stand. Then Conway and Kane Williamson milked runs despite struggling to middle the ball. They stitched 44 runs for the second wicket as Conway (28 off 33) holed out in the deep off Gareth Delany.
Glenn Phillips struck a couple of lusty blows to take the pressure from the shoulders of his skipper and scored a quick cameo of 9-ball 17. Williamson (61 off 35) stayed till the 19th over and scored a good half-century to lift the team’s total with a brisk run rate. He, alongside Daryl Mitchell (31* off 21), who was unbeaten till the end, added 60 runs for the 4th wicket. Then Ireland did well to put brakes on New Zealand’s finish as Joshua Little celebrated a hattrick in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th deliveries of the 19th over as he dismissed Williamson, Neesham, and Santner to reduce the onslaught of the Kiwis to 185.
For Ireland, Joshua Little (4-0-22-3) scalped three wickets, while Gareth Delany (4-0-30-2) picked a couple of wickets. Mark Adair (4-0-39-1) did pick a wicket but was expensive.
Coming to this huge chase with a mindset of causing a big upset, Ireland openers Andrew Balbirnie (30 off 25) and Paul Stirling (37 off 27) were smashing the Blackcaps bowlers all around in the first 8 overs, adding 68 runs for the first wicket. Once the spinners were introduced, Ireland succumbed in the run chase. It all started with Mitchell Santner breaking this dangerous-looking Balbirnie via a chopped-on dismissal. Then Ish Sodhi came in and picked a couple of wickets, followed by Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee chipping in to decimate the middle and lower order of the Irish side. Ireland fell over from 68/0 to 150/9 as they fell short of the target by 35 runs and bow out of the World Cup with a loss.
For New Zealand, everyone who bowled picked wickets apart from Trent Boult (4-0-38-0). While Lockie Ferguson (4-0-22-3) scalped three wickets, Tim Southee(4-0-29-2), Ish Sodhi (4-0-31-2) and Mitchell Santner (4-0-26-2) picked a couple of wickets.
With this win, New Zealand stay firm at the top of the points table with 7 points, and they now will sit and watch how the other two games left in the group go.
Stay tuned for the presentations!
Earlier in the match, Ireland won the toss and opt to field first. A collective batting effort led by Kane Williamson propelled New Zealand to a score of 185/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Though Finn Allen came out all guns blazing, Devon Conway struggled to time the ball. Allen (32 off 18) was the first one to go on the 6th over as Mark Adair broke the 52-run opening stand. Then Conway and Kane Williamson milked runs despite struggling to middle the ball. They stitched 44 runs for the second wicket as Conway (28 off 33) holed out in the deep off Gareth Delany.
Glenn Phillips struck a couple of lusty blows to take the pressure from the shoulders of his skipper and scored a quick cameo of 9-ball 17. Williamson (61 off 35) stayed till the 19th over and scored a good half-century to lift the team’s total with a brisk run rate. He, alongside Daryl Mitchell (31* off 21), who was unbeaten till the end, added 60 runs for the 4th wicket. Then Ireland did well to put brakes on New Zealand’s finish as Joshua Little celebrated a hattrick in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th deliveries of the 19th over as he dismissed Williamson, Neesham, and Santner to reduce the onslaught of the Kiwis to 185.
For Ireland, Joshua Little (4-0-22-3) scalped three wickets, while Gareth Delany (4-0-30-2) picked a couple of wickets. Mark Adair (4-0-39-1) did pick a wicket but was expensive.
Coming to this huge chase with a mindset of causing a big upset, Ireland openers Andrew Balbirnie (30 off 25) and Paul Stirling (37 off 27) were smashing the Blackcaps bowlers all around in the first 8 overs, adding 68 runs for the first wicket. Once the spinners were introduced, Ireland succumbed in the run chase. It all started with Mitchell Santner breaking this dangerous-looking Balbirnie via a chopped-on dismissal. Then Ish Sodhi came in and picked a couple of wickets, followed by Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee chipping in to decimate the middle and lower order of the Irish side. Ireland fell over from 68/0 to 150/9 as they fell short of the target by 35 runs and bow out of the World Cup with a loss.
For New Zealand, everyone who bowled picked wickets apart from Trent Boult (4-0-38-0). While Lockie Ferguson (4-0-22-3) scalped three wickets, Tim Southee(4-0-29-2), Ish Sodhi (4-0-31-2) and Mitchell Santner (4-0-26-2) picked a couple of wickets.
With this win, New Zealand stay firm at the top of the points table with 7 points, and they now will sit and watch how the other two games left in the group go.
Stay tuned for the presentations!
Kane Williamson (Player of the Match; Ross Taylor presents with a momento to Kane): "I think the guys at the top of the order were brilliant to provide a good start. We got to a competitive total. And later the bowlers did well, the spinners were also brilliant. It was nice to get a bit of momentum and time a few balls as well. Which is obviously nice. It was a team effort actually. Ireland did well and played good cricket as well."
Time for the skipper to give their views.
Andrew Balbirnie (Ireland Captain): "We played against a top team and we couldn't capitalize on the start we got. I think the fielding was a bit off for us. But we got a pretty good tournament this time. The guys should be proud of it.
I think the trend in this World Cup has been that we don't need to have flying starts at the start, that was the talk with Paul Stirling. We can start slow and then go far. He's [Josh Little] been amazing all tour, all our seamers, all our spinners, they have done well, they started a show."
I think the trend in this World Cup has been that we don't need to have flying starts at the start, that was the talk with Paul Stirling. We can start slow and then go far. He's [Josh Little] been amazing all tour, all our seamers, all our spinners, they have done well, they started a show."
Kane Williamson (New Zealand Captain): "Yeah, really a good team performance. You know what Ireland are capable of, and we know they come hard at us. But we were prepared for that, and the team played really well. The pitch was definitely on the slower side. We batted well in the powerplay, and that was the key. Our guys really executed the plans well, and we have won.
Yeah, I had to be positive that was what the situation demanded. I wanted to consider my options, form partnerships, and talk with the batters about what we should do next. We didn't get our first wicket until the ninth over. We needed to adjust our lines and bowl a little slower, which the bowlers did admirably."
Yeah, I had to be positive that was what the situation demanded. I wanted to consider my options, form partnerships, and talk with the batters about what we should do next. We didn't get our first wicket until the ninth over. We needed to adjust our lines and bowl a little slower, which the bowlers did admirably."
That is it from this match. We all now need to shift to the next game coming live from this same ground. Australia gear up to play against Afghanistan, and Australia will be without Aaron Finch. So let us move into that match as we switch tabs. For now, it is AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Arijit Kundu and scorer/analyst Zeeshan Naiyer who brought you all the live action of this mouth-watering encounter. We will meet in the next match. Until then, it is cheers!