New Zealand secure series with 88-run win over Ireland

Ireland went down to an 88-run defeat in the second T20I against New Zealand, with the Black Caps sealing a series win with one game to play.

Ireland won the toss in Stormont and elected to bowl, but Finn Allen looked to attack from the off, pulling his fourth ball, off Craig Young, for six and lofting Barry McCarthy's first ball high and handsome over the leg-side. He raced to 35 off 20 balls before slicing Josh Little back over the bowler’s head, with McCarthy running in to take an excellent sliding catch.

Allen’s innings aside, Ireland were able to restrict New Zealand well early on. It took until the first ball of the eighth over for a batter other than Allen to find the boundary, with Dane Cleaver driving George Dockrell inside-out over extra cover before pulling Young for six.

Young hit back soon after, with Martin Guptill, in excellent form this tour but kept quiet today, bounced out, pulling straight to fine leg for 11 off 17. Having scored 40-0 off the first four overs, Ireland restricted New Zealand to 34-2 in the next six.

The Black Caps switched gears upon entering the second half of the innings, striking 48 runs between overs 11 and 14. They were particularly severe on McCarthy, Cleaver playing an audacious reverse-scoop for six and Glenn Phillips guiding a more orthodox boundary down to the same third area.

With Phillips also smashing Little over midwicket for six, he seemed set for a repeat of his Player of the Match performance in the first T20I. But Young once again provided the breakthrough, locating the right length to beat Phillips’ attempted off-side stroke and taking out middle stump.

There was no dislodging Cleaver however, who, having taken his time to get set, put together a match-winning innings. He