Friday in Adelaide, New Zealand’s skipper Kane Williamson scored a lightning-quick fifty to nearly propel his team into the Twenty20 World Cup semifinals. New Zealand defeated Ireland by 35 runs.
Williamson’s 35-ball 61 pushed New Zealand to 185-6, while their bowlers restricted Ireland to 150-9, allowing them to lead Group 1 with seven points following their last Super 12 encounter in Adelaide.
Australia, who will next face Afghanistan at the same stadium, and England can tie New Zealand on points if they win, but the Black Caps have a far superior net run rate.
Only a mathematical miracle can eliminate last year’s runners-up from the final four, leaving Australia and England to battle it out.
“A very impressive team performance was required. We knew what Ireland was capable of, and they’ve played incredible cricket,” Williamson said.
New Zealand prevailed on a sunny afternoon despite an astounding hat-trick by Ireland fast bowler Joshua Little. Despite the captain’s failure to convert starts in prior matches, he led by example as New Zealand dominated despite a hat-trick by Ireland fast bowler Joshua Little.
Williamson, James Neesham, and Mitchell Santner were dismissed consecutively by the left-arm fast in the 19th over with New Zealand cruising at 174-3.
It was the second hat-trick of this World Cup, following Karthik Meiyappan of the United Arab Emirates versus Sri Lanka in the opening round.
Little’s wickets halted New Zealand’s advance, but Williamson’s maiden fifty of the tournament had already placed his team on track for a formidable total.
Williamson, who was criticized for his slow batting, smacked five fours and three sixes in his 35-ball innings. Daryl Mitchell scored an unbeaten 31 off 21 balls and partnered with Williamson for a crucial 60-run stand.
After being invited to bat first, Finn Allen and Devon Conway began cautiously against a disciplined Irish bowling attack.
In the fourth over, Allen broke the shackles by smashing leg-spinner Gareth Delany for three fours, including two consecutive deliveries.
He kept up the pressure and hammered a six and four off of fast bowler Mark Adair before being caught at mid-off on the following delivery, as the New Zealanders reached 52-1 after six overs.
The left-handed Conway struggled to accelerate despite hitting a few boundaries, but he and Williamson maintained a stand of 44 runs.
Delany grabbed two wickets in the middle overs, including Glenn Phillips for 17 runs, but Williamson soon assumed control.
Irish pride in failure
The opening partnership between Paul Stirling (37) and Andrew Balbirnie (30) for the Irish scored 68 runs off 49 balls.
The Irish team had defeated two-time winners the West Indies in the opening round and then stunned England in a rain-affected Super 12 match.
However, Balbirnie nicked one onto his stumps from Santner, and fellow spinner Ish Sodhi bowled Stirling in the following over to dash Ireland’s hopes as their chase unraveled.
After a double strike in his fourth over, Lockie Ferguson’s bowling statistics were 3-22. Santner, Sodhi, and Tim Southee, a quick bowler, each grabbed two wickets.
Balbirnie stated, “We bowled really well, but our fielding has been a bit off throughout the tournament.”
“The men have performed quite well. We are satisfied with the work.
“We have created a few upsets, we are playing better cricket than we have in the past year, and everyone is beginning to reveal their true colors.”