ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, Super 12, Group 1, New Zealand vs Ireland: Kane Williamson's 61, Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner's 2-fers and George Delany's 2-30 are top performances as New Zealand beat Ireland at Adelaide and become first team to qualify for semis.
Brief Scores: NZ 185/6 (Williamson 61, Allen 32, Little 3/22) beat IRE 150/9 (Stirling 37, Balbirnie 30, Ferguson 3/22) by 35 runs
Player of the Match: Kane Williamson (61 runs in 35 balls)
Ireland who lost to Australia in a close encounter, locked horns with New Zealand who were eager to win the do-or-die game after their loss at the hands of England. The thirteenth Group 1 game of the Super 12 stage was played at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide.
The all-rounders delivered great performances for New Zealand with both bat and ball as Ireland found it too hard to handle the pressure. With this victory and Australia’s below par performance in their game against Afghanistan, New Zealand have ensured that they will go through to the semi-final stage with a hefty net run rate (NRR) of 2.113.
Kane Williamson gets back in form
Questions have begun to be raised on Kane Williamson’s place in the shortest format of the game and his string of low scores in the past few games is making it tough for him and the whole team. However, the way he managed a knock of 61-runs in just 35 balls against Ireland was pleasing to the eyes and he would surely feel more confident going forward.
Read More: T20 World Cup 2022, Gr 1, ENG v NZ: Buttler's 73, Curran's crucial 2-26 take England to number 2
Disciplined New Zealand keep themselves in the reckoning for semifinal berth
Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie on winning the toss opted to bowl first on a good surface which he expected to remain the same throughout the whole game. Both teams retained the same playing eleven.
Put in to bat first, New Zealand raced away to 52/1 at the end of the powerplay, thanks to an electrifying 32-run knock from Finn Allen. The Ireland bowlers made a good comeback to slow them down to 75/1 at the halfway mark. A flurry of boundaries saw them reaching 128/3 after 15 overs, before captain Kane Williamson with a splendid 61-run knock powered New Zealand to 185/6 after their allotted 20 overs.
Chasing a huge score of 186, Ireland went off to a decent start thanks to their 68-run opening stand in just eight overs. But the disciplined New Zealand bowlers pulled them back reducing the opponents to 102/5 in the 15th over. Finally, Ireland managed only 150/9 in their 20 overs to give New Zealand a 35-run victory.
Let’s scan the top performances from the game between New Zealand and Ireland in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.
Spin twin Santner-Sodhi slowed down Ireland with combined figures of 4/57
Chasing a huge score of 186, Ireland propelled up to 68 without any damage in just eight overs. In both ends of the powerplay, they belted New Zealand spinners, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi, for 13 and 16 runs, respectively, and looked set to give New Zealand a good fight.
On the first ball of the ninth over, Santner coming into his second over sent back opponent captain Andrew Balbirnie on 30, who offered too much room to play the cut shot before watching his stumps being dismantled. Ish Sodhi too coming into his second over, dismissed Paul Stirling on 37 who was too early on his slog-sweep as the ball hit the off stump.
Santner then coming into his third over got the better of Harry Tector (2), who in an attempt to drive the ball got a top edge as Tim Southee at backward point grabbed an easy catch. Sodhi then in his last over recorded the wicket of Lorcan Tucker on 13 who went for a huge shot as the tossed-up delivery failed to get the required elevation and ended in the hands of the long-off fielder.
Santner who finished with 2/26 in his four overs, now has 86 T20I wickets in 76 games; while Ish Sodhi who ended with 2/31 in his four overs, now has 107 T20I scalps in 84 games.
Read More: T20 World Cup 2022, Gr 1, NZ v SL: Phillips 104, Boult 4-13 help New Zealand maintain pole position
Gareth Delany made a valuable contribution with 2/31
New Zealand, after losing opener Finn Allen in the powerplay, were going at an express rate being on 83/1 in 11 overs. Their batters were treating all Ireland bowlers almost in the same fashion. Gareth Delany too was smashed all around for 16 runs in his first two overs.
On his third over, Delany sent back an out of touch Devon Conway on 28 who going for the slog sweep saw the ball balloon in the air as Mark Adair stationed at long on, took a good catch. On the first ball of his last over, Delany registered the wicket of dangerous looking Glenn Phillips on 17 who slashed the ball hard only to see it dying in the hands of deep extra-cover.
Gerath Delany finished with figures of 2/30 in his four overs as he now has 33 T20I wickets in 55 games.
Kane Williamson got back in form with an extraordinary 61-run knock
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has been going through a rough patch with bat in hand, and his slow 40-run knock in 40 deliveries against England drew a lot of criticism from several observers.
Coming into bat on the last ball of the powerplay, Williamson began almost in the same fashion before drilling his first boundary over the extra-cover fielder. With his partner Devon Conway struggling for runs, Williamson decided to take on the bowlers as he smashed Fionn Hand for a boundary over mid-off before smacking a huge six behind square.
Wiliamson then managed a late sweep against George Dockrell, behind square for a valuable boundary before cracking the same bowler through the cow-corner for the same result. With a sweet six flicked over the deep mid-wicket region, Kane Williamson reached his 15th T20I half-century in just 32 balls. He celebrated it with a boundary sliced over third man and a six clubbed over deep mid-wicket against Barry McCarthy.
The New Zealand captain was finally dismissed on 61 in 35 deliveries with the help of five boundaries and three sixes, as he now has 2357 T20I runs in 85 games.
Read More: T20 World Cup 2022, Gr 1, Aus v NZ: Conway 92*, Southee 3-6, Santner 3-31 help NZ smother Aus at SCG
ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, Group 1 Points Table
What’s Next
New Zealand with this win are now top of the table in Group 1 with 7 points at a net run rate (NRR) of 2.113 and have ensured a berth in the semi-final stage. Ireland are at the fifth position in Group 1 with three points.
England will take on Sri Lanka on November 5 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Sydney.
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