After a 3-0 ODI series loss to New Zealand, Ireland will be keen to bounce back and get even in the upcoming T20 encounter. The first game of the 3-match series will take place in Belfast on 18 July.
Andy Balbirnie will be eager to take his team past the winning post. Ireland have been a tough opponent to strike down as they proved in this ODI series against the Black Caps as well as the recent T20I series against India. But they have never been able to cross the last mile and clinch victory, as was evident in the last clash against New Zealand when they lost out by just 1 run.
The Andrew Balbirnie-led side will be banking on Craig Young and Mark Adair to keep the Black Caps restricted to a low score. Harry Tector and Paul Stirling could be the batters to watch out for. Tector slammed two tons in the tournament and could very well continue being a run machine in the T20s as well.
As for Blackcaps, the side is riding high on the performance of Michael Bracewell. The all-rounder has been in tremendous form and scored 190 runs in three fixtures, making him the second-highest scorer after Irish batter Harry Tector.
Ireland vs New Zealand: Head to Head record in T20Is
But the Kiwis have not had the best record in T20Is recently. The team has lost 4 out of its last 5 games, and the remaining encounter against Netherlands in March this year was abandoned due to bad weather. The Mitchell Santner-led brigade will be keen to break their stint of bad luck in the shortest format of the game with a win over the hosts.
Belfast weather update:
The upcoming contest will be held at Civil Service Cricket Club, Stormont, Belfast. The weather will be mostly sunny and humid on 18 July. Temperatures could hover between 17 and 27 degrees Celsius. The humidity will range from 66 to 71 percent. Wind speeds could vary from 10 to 15 kmph.
Possible Playing XIs:
Ireland: Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Andy McBrine, George Dockrell, Lorcan Tucker, Stephen Doheny, Craig Young, Mark Adair, Josh Little.
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Finn Allen, James Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rippon, Michael Bracewell, Ben Sears, Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner (captain), Lockie Ferguson.
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