A powerful show by Axar Patel in the second ODI helped India clinch the ongoing three-match series and take an unassailable 2-0 lead against hosts West Indies. The Shikhar Dhawan & Co. will now look to continue the momentum, and whitewash the series by 3-0, by winning the third and final ODI which is set to happen on July 27 at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain in Trinidad.

West Indies yet again came perilously close to defeating India, but were unable to defend their total of 311/6 as a remarkable cameo from Axar Patel helped the visitors cross the finish line, condemning the Windies to an eighth straight ODI loss. As the hosts’ batters continue to shine throughout this series, opener Shai Hope celebrated his 100th ODI for the West Indies with a century.

However, until and unless the bowlers pull up their socks to restrict India from scoring, they would keep facing a challenging time. Gudakesh Motie was replaced in the lineup by Hayden Walsh, however, Walsh only bowled three overs at an economy rate of 8.00 and went wicketless. Thus, the Windies might plan to reverse that move.

All-rounder Axar Patel‘s thrilling cameo of an unbeaten 64 off 35 deliveries brought India’s bench strength to the limelight once again in the recently concluded game. If Ravindra Jadeja hadn’t missed out on the game due to his injury, Patel might not have gotten the chance of making it to the XI. Patel played a match-winning knock and confirmed his place in the lineup.

Another such player, who impressed everyone was Sanju Samson, who portrayed the wicketkeeper-batter’s role in the absence of regular Rishabh Pant. For the second ODI, there was only one replacement made as pacer Avesh Khan replaced Prasidh Krishna in the lineup. However, Avesh struggled to create an impact with the ball and having won the series already, India might well be persuaded to give a debut cap to Arshdeep Singh.

Pitch Conditions

The match at The Queen’s Park Oval will be competitive because of the pitch, which equally encourages bowlers and batters. In both the games so far, both pacers and spinners made good use of the conditions, but the batters found it to be a little slow. After witnessing two back-to-back thrillers, the team batting first will have to post a target higher than 300 runs in order to win.

Playing Combinations for WI vs IND

West Indies

West Indies demonstrated gritty character in both ODIs but fell short in the final over in both the game, thereby losing it by the barest of margins. West Indies strengthened their weakness—their inability to bat for 50 overs—and conquered it to record significant totals.

Predicted Playing XI: Shai Hope, Kyle Mayers, Shamarh Brooks, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran (c and wk), Rovman Powell, Akeal Hosein, Romario Shepherd, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales

India

Having won the series, there are chances that India might call up a couple of players for their debut game. India has the option of playing Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had a good track record in 50-over games recently, and Arshdeep Singh, the sensational young bowler, and try them in the series finale.

Predicted Playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Siraj, Avesh Khan/Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

WI vs IND Head-to-Head

Played- 138 | West Indies- 63 | India- 69 | Tied- 02 | NR- 04

WI vs IND Broadcast Details

Match Timings- 7:00 PM IST

TV- DD Sports

Streaming- FanCode

England trounced South Africa by 118 runs in the second ODI in a rain-curtailed affair in Manchester and drew level in the three-match series. The series finale between the two sides will be staged at Headingley in Leeds on Sunday, 24th of July.

English batters stayed true to their tactics of being aggressive from the get-go in white ball cricket and were staring down the barrel after losing their top five batters on the score of 72 after the match was reduced to 29 overs per side. And they were bowled out for 201 after some adept batting by the lower-order batters.

At the halfway mark, the visitors must have been proud of their bowling effort and would have been confident of chasing the total to clinch the series. But the English bowlers took just 23 deliveries to wreck that dream as South Africa lost their top order for just six runs and the match was a mere formality as the Proteas succumbed to an embarrassingly low total of 83 runs.

The final ODI will be an enthralling encounter as England seem to have found their mojo back. They will be eyeing their first series victory under Jos Buttler‘s leadership.

Pitch and conditions

The surface at Headingley offers variable bounce and assists the seam bowlers to great extent in overcast conditions. The team winning the toss on the previous two occasions have opted to bowl, a trend which might not continue as chasing a decent target on this pitch can be a tad tricky.

Playing Combinations for ENG vs SA

England

The hosts were rescued in the second ODI by their all-rounders, who came up with handy scores with the bat to take England to a respectable total. The English camp is sticking with their all-out attack approach at the top of the order, which hasn’t been fruitful so far under Jos Buttler’s stint.

Predicted XI: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Philip Salt, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley

South Africa

Keshav Maharaj’s bowlers were on the money once again in the series, but the batters let them down. With the series up for grabs, South Africa are unlikely to tinker the combination for the final ODI.

Predicted XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Janneman Malan, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Dwaine Pretorius, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj (c), Tabraiz Shamsi

ENG vs SA Head to Head

Played- 65 | England- 29 | South Africa- 31 | No Result – 4 | Tied – 1 |

ENG vs SA Broadcast Details

Match Timings- 3:30 PM IST

Broadcast Details

 Sony SIX and Sony LIV app (live streaming)

Pakistan completed a famous victory against Sri Lanka in the first Test match in Galle, completing their second-highest chase of 342. Their highest successful chase of 377 also came against Sri Lanka in 2015 in Pallekele. Meanwhile, the second Test of the series is set to begin on Sunday in Galle.

Sri Lanka recently managed to draw the Test series 1-1 against the Australia, winning the final game by an innings and 39 runs. They would need a similar kind of performance against Babar Azam’s side to bounce back in the series.

For Pakistan, it was their 22-year-old opener Abdullah Shafique who starred with the bat and steered the chase for the visitors in the first game. He scored an unbeaten 160 off 408 balls and saw off the chase. Skipper Babar also played his part in the game scoring 119 in the first innings and 55 in the second.

Pitch and Conditions

The last three Test matches hosted by Sri Lanka have been in Galle, and this will be the fourth. It generally offers turn right from Day 1 and gets more and more challenging going into Day 4 and Day 5. The wicket is dusty and the ball could turn square from Day 3. The team winning the toss must elect to bat first and make the most when the pitch is suitable for batting.

Playing Combinations for SL vs PAK

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has gone with more or less the same lineup in their last three Test matches. Batter Pathum Nissanka has recovered from Covid-19 but might miss out on the playing XI as opener Oshada Fernando performed well in the first match. Off-spinner Lakshitha Manasinghe has replaced Maheesh Theekshana in the squad for the second game and could make his debut.

Predicted XI: Oshada Fernando, Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Ramesh  Mendis, Prabhath Jayasuriya, Lakshitha Manasinghe, Kasun Rajitha

Pakistan

Pakistan would have wanted to stick with the winning combination, however, their bowling spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi is ruled out of the Test match due to a knee injury. Pacer Harees Rauf is likely to replace Afridi.

Predicted Playing XI: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (c), Mohamad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Naseem Shah

SL vs PAK Head to Head

Played – 56 | Sri Lanka – 16 | Pakistan – 21 | Draw – 19

SL vs PAK Broadcast Details

Match Date & Timings – July 24-28 & 10:00 AM

Broadcast Details – Sony Sports Network, Sony LIV

South Africa women’s miserable run in white-ball cricket was prolonged against hosts England as they succumbed to a fourth successive defeat on the tour, losing the first T20I in Chelmsford. England are just a win away from securing back-to-back series triumphs against the visitors following their clean-sweep in the ODI series.

South Africa were put in to bat first after Heather Knight called it right at the toss in the previous game. But the visitors managed just 111/9 in their 20 overs as the English bowlers controlled the proceedings throughout the first innings.

The hosts romped past the South African total by the end of the 15th over with six wickets to spare. Sophia Dunkley, a week after registering her maiden ton in ODIs, displayed her power-hitting abilities in the 20-over format with a blistering 59 off 39 deliveries, setting the tone for the chase.

But it was veteran English pacer Katherine Brunt, who had set up the series opener for the hosts as she recorded career-best figures of 4/15 in the first innings. The 37-year-old had a memorable day in the field as she became only the second Englishwoman to reach the milestone of 100 wickets in the format when she dismissed the opposition skipper Sune Luus.

Pitch and conditions

The surface at the County Ground in Worcester often assists the seamers. But the batters also enjoy playing on the surface with decent bounce on offer. The toss wouldn’t be much of a factor at this point with the English team dominating in all aspects of the game.

Playing combinations for ENG-W vs SA-W

England Women

The message in the dressing room will be to keep things simple and continue with the same team in the second T20I. Although the experiment of promoting all-rounder Danni Wyatt up the order didn’t work in the series opener, they would likely persist with the same batting order.

Predicted Playing XI:  Sophia Dunkley, Danielle Wyatt, Natalie Sciver, Heather Knight (c), Amy Jones (wk), Maia Bouchier, Bryony Smith, Sophie Ecclestone, Katherine Brunt, Issy Wong, Sarah Glenn

South Africa Women

Marizanne Kapp pulling out of the series is a huge blow for the visitors who have struggled for runs from their top-order batters. The gulf in quality between the two sides has been on show in the white-ball series, with inexperience in the Proteas camp playing a vital role in their downfall. They will have to conjure up something special in the do-or-die second T20I to avoid another series loss at the hands of the hosts.

Predicted Playing XI:  Anneke Bosch, Lara Goodall, Sune Luus (c), Laura Wolvaardt, Mignon du Preez, Chloe Tryon, Delmi Tucker, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Shabnim Ismail, Masabata Klaas, Ayabonga Khaka

ENG-W vs SA-W Head to Head

Played – 20 | England Women – 16 | South Africa Women – 3 | No Result – 1

ENG-W vs SA-W Broadcast Details

Match Date & Timings – July 23, 2022, 7:00 PM IST

Broadcast Details – Sony Sports Network, Sony LIV

India started off the ODI series on a high note by winning the first game and taking a 1-0 lead. But West Indies players gave their best and put out a worthy fight. They fell short by just three runs as India emerged victorious in the final-ball thriller. It will be interesting to see which team will get the upper hand in the next game that is set to happen at the same venue on Sunday.

The Men in Blue had a good start with the bat, but they struggled in the second half of the innings, after losing the top order. Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, and Shreyas Iyer showed great composure as all three of them bagged a good individual score. But the middle-order faced a slump and India’s hopes of posting a humungous total were crushed.

Dhawan’s strategy of rotating the bowlers and changing the field setup regularly helped the team get the West indies power-hitters out of the game, but they still need improvements in the bowling. Apart from that, they also need to sort the middle-order lineup as India can not face another collapse in the upcoming fixture.

As for the hosts, their biggest problem in the ODIs was that they weren’t able to play through the 50 overs. But the Men in Maroon took everyone by surprise by putting up a fight till the last ball of the 50^th over of their chase. Now that the team has got the rhythm correct, they would look to capitalize on the same and cover up for their loss.

Pitch Conditions

A pitch that supports the batters and the bowlers equally, the contest at The Queen’s Park Oval will be neck-to-neck. The first game saw both pacers and spinners getting the most out of it, while it behaves a tad bit slow for the batters. The batters will have to stay long on the crease to adjust to the conditions and get going.

Playing Combinations for WI vs IND

West Indies

West Indies showed a fighting spirit in the first game but fell short of just bare minimum runs. Their major flaw was not being able to play the complete 50 overs, which they worked upon as a team and played the whole game against India. They have got a near-winning combination and it will surely help them bag a win.

Predicted Playing XI: Shai Hope, Kyle Mayers, Shamarh Brooks, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran (c and wk), Rovman Powell, Akeal Hosein, Romario Shepherd, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul

India

The Shikhar Dhawan-led Indian side is filled with plenty of inexperienced players, but they still managed to work in unity and win the first game. The bowling attack needs a little improvement, whereas the middle-order batters need to pull up their sock in order to extend their lead in the series.

Predicted Playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal

WI vs IND Head-to-Head

Played- 137 | West Indies- 63 | India- 68 | Tied- 02 | NR- 04

WI vs IND Broadcast Details

Match Timings- 7:00 PM IST

TV- DD Sports

Streaming- FanCode

England’s turbulent start under newly appointed white-ball skipper Jos Buttler continued as they lost the series opener against visitors South Africa after a disappointing outing in Durham on the 19th of July, Tuesday in Ben Stokes’s farewell game in ODI cricket.

South Africa were superior in all departments of the game and performed diligently under stand-in skipper Keshav Maharaj. Rassie van der Dussen continued his phenomenal run in ODI cricket and registered a magnificent ton in front of Stokes’ home crowd that had gathered to commemorate his final hoorah in the format. 

The hosts will be hoping to end the sequence of disappointing performances in white-ball cricket, in the do-or-die second match in Manchester on Friday, the 22nd of July. The good news for Buttler is that the opening batters, who struggled for runs in the previous series against India, showed signs of a return to form in the first ODI, while Joe Root also looked at his fluent best in the series opener.

Pitch and conditions

The previous encounter at Old Trafford showed that batting in the second innings gets much easier in comparison to the first innings. The dimensions of the field will favour the batters more, unlike in Durham. The team winning the toss will likely opt to bowl first as the new ball will move a bit in the early part of the match.

Playing Combinations for ENG vs SA

England

For the first time in almost a decade, England won’t be able to call up Ben Stokes to bail them out in tough situations. Buttler’s men will walk out at Old Trafford determined to end their agony in white-ball cricket. Philip Salt is most likely to come into the team to replace the retired Stokes.

Predicted Playing XI: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Philip Salt, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Reece Topley

South Africa

On the other hand, South Africa have been forced to make a change in their team for the second ODI as Andile Phehlukwayo has been ruled out of the ODI series following his collision in the series opener. Dwaine Pretorius, who was the concussion substitute in the first ODI, will be drafted into the playing XI.

Predicted Playing XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Janneman Malan, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Dwaine Pretorius, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj (c), Tabraiz Shamsi

ENG vs SA Head to Head

Played- 64 | England- 28 | South Africa- 31 | No Result – 4 | Tied – 1 |

ENG vs SA Broadcast Details

Match Timings-  5:30 PM IST

Broadcast Details

 Sony SIX and Sony LIV app (live streaming)

Ireland will be locking horns with New Zealand in the third T20I at the Civil Service Cricket Club Stormont in Belfast on Friday, July 22. Unlike the One Day Internationals, the Irish team were comprehensively defeated in the first two T20Is by 31 and 88 runs respectively. In fact, the hosts suffered a humiliating defeat in the last game where they were skittled out for 91 in the 14th over, chasing 180 with only opener Paul Stirling and all-rounder Mark Adair getting past 20 runs. Even the bowling has let Ireland down in both games.

New Zealand on the other hand have been clinical in all departments in the final leg of this bilateral series. Even though they lost their top-order early in the first game, the middle-order brilliantly compensated and the bowlers were impactful in both matches, thereby ensuring the Irish batters got nowhere near the target while chasing.

With the series already in the bag, the Kiwis will be leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that they finish this tour on a high note without losing a single game. Hence, they would be coming out all guns blazing in order to register a whitewash.

Pitch and conditions

The Belfast wicket has been a good one to bat. There has not been a lot of movement on the surface due to which the bowlers had to stick to their lines and lengths in order to get breakthroughs. While chasing is a good option with a run-fest expected on this batting-friendly pitch, the captain winning the toss would be looking to bat first and defend a total.

Playing Combinations for IRE vs NZ

Ireland

Ireland would not be interested in making any changes in their side and would be going ahead with the same side in this inconsequential clash as they look to salvage pride by winning the final match. However, all eyes would be on their misfiring bowling unit and the duo of Craig Young and Mark Adair would be expected to make an impact.

Predicted XI:  Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Gareth Delany, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Craig Young, Joshua Little

New Zealand:

Even New Zealand would be sticking to the same winning combination for this dead-rubber as they look to get enough match practice heading into the ICC T20 World Cup down under in October this year. Under left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner’s guidance, the Kiwis have been remarkable in this series and they would be eager to end the proceedings on a high.

Predicted XI: Martin Guptill, Finn Allen, Dane Cleaver (wk), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham,  Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy

IRE vs NZ Head to Head

Played – 3 | Ireland – 0| New Zealand – 3 | Drawn – 0

IRE vs NZ Broadcast Details

Match Timings- 8:30 PM IST

Live Streaming –  FanCode App

India will commence the West Indies tour with a three-match ODI series followed by as many T20Is. The Indian team will be missing the services of senior players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rishabh Pant as the captaincy role has been handed to Shikhar Dhawan. After a 2-1 victory over England, the Men in Blue will look to continue their winning momentum.

On the other hand, West Indies are coming off a 3-0 defeat against Bangladesh at home. They dominated the Test and T20Is against the opponents by winning both the series by 2-0 but failed to put up a good show in the ODIs. The West Indies have struggled to establish the correct tempo in ODI cricket for a while now.

India had hosted West Indies in February, and clean swept both the ODI and T20I series by 3-0. India had last toured the West Indies in 2019, where the first game was washed out due to rain, but the Men in Blue managed to win the second and third ODI. That was the series where Kohli hit an ODI ton and bagged the Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards. Notably, he hasn’t managed to hit an ODI century ever since.

West Indies, however, haven’t been able to strike the correct balance in the 50-over format, when it is necessary to control the hitting and shift the strike in the middle overs regularly. Either they have shut down or have tried to be overly aggressive. As a result, the squad has struggled to bat through the complete 50 overs. Before announcing his retirement, even Kieron Pollard stressed the need for West Indies to bat for the entire 50 overs in the format.

The in-form India has defeated West Indies in the two teams’ last 11 ODI encounters, thus remaining unbeaten in the 50-over format. In terms of the bilateral series, India haven’t lost against the Windies since May 2006. The Indian batters have found a good rhythm, and as for the bowlers, Ravindra Jadeja will be the one to look out for as he has the most number of wickets against West Indies, after the legendary Kapil Dev, in ODIs.

Pitch Conditions

The Queen’s Park Oval pitch frequently assists both bowlers and hitters. Given that it offers both pacers and spinners hope as the game progresses, the surface is usually unpredictable. However, if a team gets off to a strong start, batters will have their opportunities as they can overcome the natural middle-over slump.

Playing Combinations for WI vs IND

West Indies

All that the West Indies batters need to do is stick by till the end of 50 overs. Their biggest flaw in the ODI has to be rectified soon if the hosts want to win this one. They have a lineup filled with power-hitters, but they’ll have to repeat their T20I strength in the ODIs too.

Predicted Playing XI: Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran (c and wk), Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Akeal Hosein, Keemo Paul

India

The Shikhar Dhawan-led side will see a handful of new faces as compared to their recent England stint. Ishan Kishan will be back in the top order in Rohit Sharma’s absence and will join the skipper while opening the innings. Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Hooda will be players to watch out for as they have been tremendous with the bat in the white-ball setup.

Predicted Playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal

WI vs IND Head-to-Head

Played- 136 | West Indies- 63 | India- 67 | Tied- 02 | NR- 04

WI vs IND Broadcast Details

Match Timings- 7:00 PM IST

TV- DD Sports (Extended broadcasters)

Streaming- SonyLiv (Official broadcasters)

South Africa Women are amidst the tour of England, which comprises three ODIs and three T20Is, which started on July 11. The hosts whitewashed the Proteas 3-0 in the ODIs, and the three-match series T20Is will commence on July 21, Thursday. The first T20I is set to take place in County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford.

In the ODI series, England put up a strong batting display in all three matches, led by Emma Lamb and Sophia Dunkley. In the first ODI, the hosts chased down a target of 219 in 32.1 overs with five wickets in hand, courtesy of a hundred from opener Lamb and a four-wicket haul by Nat Sciver.

In the second game, England amassed a total of 337 in the first innings, thanks to a quickfire hundred by Dunkley, complemented by Sciver’s blistering fifty in the middle. South Africa, in reply, only scored 223 in 41 overs, and off-spinner Charlie Dean starred with the ball, bagging four wickets.

In the third ODI, England batters put up yet another comprehensive performance with the bat and put up 371 on board. The top scorer was Tammy Beaumont with 119 off 107 balls, and her partner Lamb scored 65. The Proteas yet again fell short of a mammoth chase, and this time by 109 runs. Charlie Dean was the pick of the English bowlers as she picked up three wickets.

Pitch and conditions

Chelmsford is notorious for its windy conditions, assisting the seamers. The pitch is excellent for batting and there have been some high-scoring matches in the venue. It is ideal for the teams to bat first as the chases have been tricky in the past. It will be partly cloudy with thunderstorms or light showers possible. The sky is going to be fairly clear during the match time in the evening.

Playing combinations for ENG-W vs SA-W

England Women

England might go with more or less the same lineup as they did in their previous game. Lamb might be given the nod to start in the T20I team as she is in good nick. Spinner and the top-ranked T20I bowler Sophie Ecclestone might be the one to watch out from England’s bowling lineup as always. Youngster Issy Wong might make her debut in the format.

Predicted Playing XI: Tammy Beaumont, Emma Lamb, Sophia Dunkley, Nat Sciver, Heather Knight, Amy Jones (wk), Alice Davidson-Richards, Sophie Ecclestone, Charlotte Dean, Issy Wong, Kate Cross

South Africa Women
The Proteas have some experienced players and some exciting young players. Their star pacer and the third-ranked T20I bowler Shabnim Ismail will spearhead the bowling lineup, which has promising youngsters such as Ayabonga Khaka and Nonkululeko Mlaba. Batter Laura Wolvaardt will be the watch out for in the South African team.

Predicted Playing XI: Lara Goodall, Laura Wolvaardt, Lizelle Lee, Sune Luus (c), Chloe Tryon, Marizanne Kapp, Trisha Chetty (WK), Shabnim Ismail, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Nadine de Klerk, Ayabonga Khaka

ENG-W vs SA-W Head to Head

Played – 19 | England Women – 15 | South Africa Women – 3 | No Result – 1

ENG-W vs SA-W Broadcast Details

Match Date & Timings – July 21 & 11:30 PM IST
Broadcast Details – Sony Sports Network, Sony LIV

New Zealand completed a comprehensive victory over hosts Ireland in the T20I series opener on Monday, 18th of July, in Belfast. The visitors, for the first time in the series, weren’t made to sweat for their victory as they ran out comfortable victors by 31 runs. And the two teams will collide for the second T20I after just a day’s break on Wednesday.

The visitors were off to a brisk start on the back of veteran batter Martin Guptill’s 12-ball 24 but lost their way after losing three wickets in the powerplay. It was Glenn Phillips’s unbeaten 69 off 52 with valuable cameos from James Neesham and Michael Bracewell that propelled New Zealand to an above-par score of 173.

Ireland, on the other hand, were never in the chase since the get-go and weren’t helped with some ordinary batting by the Irish batters either. The lower order did offer some resilience, but it was a little too late as Ireland fizzled out for 142.

Pitch and conditions

The surface at Stormont is conducive to the bowlers, and like the batters said post the first T20I, 150 seems to be the par score on the surface and anything beyond that will be a tough total to chase. The teams winning the toss might want to bat first and set a decent total on the board for the opposition to the chase.

Playing Combinations for IRE vs NZ

Ireland

The Irish team was let down by their top order batters, who were in red-hot form in the recently concluded ODI series. The bowlers did bowl a few freebies and they will hope for a better bowling performance in the second T20I, which becomes a do-or-die match for the hosts. 

Predicted Playing XI: Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Gareth Delany, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Craig Young, Joshua Little

New Zealand

Mitchell Santner, who recovered from the Covid-19 infection, marshalled his troops really well in the T20I series opener and will look to continue that in the second T20I as well. Lockie Ferguson impressed with a rapid spell that garnered him four wickets in the match.

Predicted Playing XI: Martin Guptill, Finn Allen, Dane Cleaver (wk), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy

IRE vs NZ Head to Head

Played – 02 | Ireland – 00 | New Zealand – 02 | No Result – 0 | 

IRE vs NZ Broadcast Details

Match Timings –  8:30 PM IST

Broadcast Details

FanCode (live streaming)