A superb half-century from Dane Cleaver and a hat-trick by spinner Michael Bracewell helped New Zealand crush Ireland by 88 runs in the second T20I at Belfast on Wednesday and clinch the three-match series 2-0.
The match was extremely one-sided. New Zealand put up a challenging 179/4 in their 20 overs. Dane Cleaver’s unbeaten 78 off 55 balls powered the batting effort of Kiwis, with Finn Allen (35) making another notable contribution. Medium pacer Josh Little was the pick of the bowlers for Ireland, taking 2/31. The chase of 180 runs was nightmarish for the hosts as wickets kept tumbling for them regularly. The batters could not get a breather from the web spun by spinners Sodhi (3/21) and Michael Bracewell (3/5). The latter took a hat trick, becoming the third NZ bowler to do so after Jacob Oram and Tim Southee. Ireland was bundled out for just 91 runs, with Mark Adair (27) and Paul Stirling (21) scoring the most for their side.
Put to bat first by Ireland, NZ was off a solid start. Openers Martin Guptill and Finn Allen put on an aggressive stand of 44 runs, with the latter being an aggressor. Little provided the Irish with the breakthrough by sending back Allen for 35 off 20 balls.
The chase of 180 runs started solidly for the Irish, with Paul Stirling providing some aggression. However, in the third over, Stirling was sent back for 21 by pacer Lockie Ferguson with skipper Mitchell Santner taking a good catch at mid-off. Sodhi (3/21) and Bracewell (3/5) were the leading bowlers for the Kiwis. Duffy got two while Ferguson got one wicket.