New Zealand defeated Ireland by 35 runs to qualify for the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 played at Adelaide Oval on 4 November 2022.
It was a good batting performance by the Kiwi team. After being invited into bat by Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie, Finn Allen and Devon Conway provided a flying start after the initial struggle. Williamson struggled initially before putting Ireland bowlers under pressure with big shots.
Williamson scored a captain knock with 61 off 35 balls. Despite Joshua Little hattrick, New Zealand posted an impressive total reading of 185 for 6.
Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling began the innings cautiously before putting some pressure on New Zealand bowlers. Mitchell Santner got a breakthrough dismissing Balbirnie ending 68 runs partnership for the opening wicket. Ish Sodhi and Santer strangled the Ireland batting line up picking up wickets at regular intervals. Tim Southee, and Ferguson did the job for New Zealand restricting Ireland to 150 for 9 giving the Kiwis 35 runs win.
Here are some of the reactions:
New zealand won by 35 runs #NZvIRE
— Raju singh Chauhan (@RajuCha76958509) November 4, 2022
Another Big win for New Zealand.
First Team to qualify for the Semifinals and they already have the best NRR among All 12 Teams.If India win against Zimbabwe, they'll Top Group B #NZvIRE
— Abhijeet ♞ (@TheYorkerBall) November 4, 2022
NZ first team to qualify for the semi-final #T20WorldCup #NZvIRE
— junaid iqbal (@junaid_iqbal35) November 4, 2022
New Zealand are in the last four!
WCs are made for NZ! #NZvIRE— Ashvin/अश्विन (@ashvinmalviya10) November 4, 2022
New Zealand defeated Ireland by 35 runs; with this Victory their semi final spot is almost 99% confirmed.#NZvIRE
— Nikhil (@Nikhil_kumar7_) November 4, 2022
New Zealand becomes the first team to qualify for Semi Finals of the T20 World Cup. #T20WorldCup #NZvIRE
— Younus Basheer (@Younus__Bashir) November 4, 2022
That's it..#NewZealand almost got their place in Super 12s..#T20WorldCup #NZvIRE 🇳🇿🇮🇪
— Asad Abbas (اسد عباس) 🇵🇰 (@AsadAbbas4ever) November 4, 2022
New Zealand’s performance in the T20 World Cup so far
New Zealand performed brilliantly in the tournament winning 4 matches including a dominating win over defending Champions by 89 runs during the opening Super 12 match. Their next game against Ireland was washed out due to rain. Thanks to Glenn Phillips’s brilliant century, they posted a competitive total and won the game comfortably.
The Kiwis lost their match against England by 20 runs despite brilliant performances by Glenn Phillips but could not take them home. They outplayed Australia in their opening match after Finn Allen’s brilliant counterattacking knock-making life.
They would face the second-place team of Group 2 as Kiwis finished table toppers with 7 points and a better run rate. It has been a superb performance by New Zealand so far hoping for much better performances in the knockout stages.
The Blackcaps performed brilliantly so far in the tournament with 4 wins and only 1 loss. They would be looking to keep the momentum going during the knockout stage.
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