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New Zealand will be looking to strengthen their chances of securing a semi-final berth when they take on Ireland in their last Super 12 encounter of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Adelaide on Friday.
Overview
The Kiwis started their campaign on a bright note with a massive 89-run win against defending champions and tournament hosts Australia, and followed it up with yet another big win against Sri Lanka by six wickets, with a washed-out game against Afghanistan in between.
All they needed after that was another victory to book their berth for the semi-finals but Jos Buttler's men halted their progress in a spectacular manner.
New Zealand lost by 20 runs but their big victories in the previous two matches helped them in staying at the top of the table, with a massive NRR of +2.233 to their name.
Now the situation is such that all of Australia, England and New Zealand have five points with one game to go. If all three teams end up winning their remaining encounters, it will come down to NRR to decide the two semifinalists from this group.
The Kiwis will certainly be ahead in that race owing to the massive NRR difference. What they can't afford here is a loss as that will certainly clear the path for England and Australia, provided they win their remaining matches. That's what Kane Williamson's men will look to avoid in this contest.
Ireland may be out of the semi-final race already but they have already shown that they are a force to reckon with on their day. They have already taken a giant down in this tournament as they defeated England in a rain-hit encounter and that speaks volumes of their ability as a team. New Zealand certainly can't take them lightly.
Ireland have a steady mix of youth and experience in their batting unit. Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie are seasoned campaigners and they have already played a couple of good knocks in this competition.
Youngsters like Curtis Campher, Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector have also shown what they are capable of doing. Tucker played an excellent hand of 71* against Australia, albeit in a losing cause, but he impressed everyone with his composure and stroke play.
The bowling attack is also one to fear. Josh Little has been a wicket-taking threat throughout this tournament, whereas Barry McCarthy has kept contributing silently from the other end as well.
Mark Adair's exploits with the new ball are also well-known and Campher is also more than capable of chipping in with a few economical overs. That's why they will look to kill the game early.
Ireland's only weak point is probably their spin attack, which doesn't inspire confidence. New Zealand, on the other hand, have often collapsed against quality spin attacks before and Andrew Balbirnie will certainly miss a quality spinner in his ranks for this contest.
With New Zealand, they need to put the disappointment of their loss to England behind and focus on this contest. They have a well-balanced team with in-form batters like Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips, and bowlers like Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson, who have also been at the top of their game.
They are a quality side and are far more experienced in big games than Ireland. All they need to do now is keep their composure in this crucial match. If they can do that, other things will fall into place on their own.
Predicted Playing XIs
New Zealand
Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Ireland
Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Fionn Hand, Joshua Little
Key Players
Glenn Phillips: The middle-order batter has been in superb form. Phillips scored a match-winning century against Sri Lanka and followed that up with another excellent knock of 62 from 36 deliveries against England. He has been brilliant in a very tough middle-order role and will be the key to New Zealand's success in this contest once again.
Josh Little: The left-arm pacer is Ireland's highest wicket-taker in this T20 World Cup. Little has claimed eight wickets so far, at an excellent strike rate of 17.2 and he has maintained a pretty good economy rate of 7.26 to go with that as well. He has bowled equally well in all phases of the innings and will be looking to deliver another good performance against the Kiwis.
==
All posters please take note of the following guidelines for match threads on PakPassion:
1. No personal insults at other posters, players, officials, coaching staffs etc.
2. No making fun of player's, official's, coaching staff's names.
3. Do not add any references to media, their social media or post any pictures or screenshots from other sports websites.
4. Stick to commenting on this match. There is no need to bring other countries into the match discussion as there are plenty of other threads where those discussions can be added.
Overview
The Kiwis started their campaign on a bright note with a massive 89-run win against defending champions and tournament hosts Australia, and followed it up with yet another big win against Sri Lanka by six wickets, with a washed-out game against Afghanistan in between.
All they needed after that was another victory to book their berth for the semi-finals but Jos Buttler's men halted their progress in a spectacular manner.
New Zealand lost by 20 runs but their big victories in the previous two matches helped them in staying at the top of the table, with a massive NRR of +2.233 to their name.
Now the situation is such that all of Australia, England and New Zealand have five points with one game to go. If all three teams end up winning their remaining encounters, it will come down to NRR to decide the two semifinalists from this group.
The Kiwis will certainly be ahead in that race owing to the massive NRR difference. What they can't afford here is a loss as that will certainly clear the path for England and Australia, provided they win their remaining matches. That's what Kane Williamson's men will look to avoid in this contest.
Ireland may be out of the semi-final race already but they have already shown that they are a force to reckon with on their day. They have already taken a giant down in this tournament as they defeated England in a rain-hit encounter and that speaks volumes of their ability as a team. New Zealand certainly can't take them lightly.
Ireland have a steady mix of youth and experience in their batting unit. Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie are seasoned campaigners and they have already played a couple of good knocks in this competition.
Youngsters like Curtis Campher, Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector have also shown what they are capable of doing. Tucker played an excellent hand of 71* against Australia, albeit in a losing cause, but he impressed everyone with his composure and stroke play.
The bowling attack is also one to fear. Josh Little has been a wicket-taking threat throughout this tournament, whereas Barry McCarthy has kept contributing silently from the other end as well.
Mark Adair's exploits with the new ball are also well-known and Campher is also more than capable of chipping in with a few economical overs. That's why they will look to kill the game early.
Ireland's only weak point is probably their spin attack, which doesn't inspire confidence. New Zealand, on the other hand, have often collapsed against quality spin attacks before and Andrew Balbirnie will certainly miss a quality spinner in his ranks for this contest.
With New Zealand, they need to put the disappointment of their loss to England behind and focus on this contest. They have a well-balanced team with in-form batters like Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips, and bowlers like Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson, who have also been at the top of their game.
They are a quality side and are far more experienced in big games than Ireland. All they need to do now is keep their composure in this crucial match. If they can do that, other things will fall into place on their own.
Predicted Playing XIs
New Zealand
Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Ireland
Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Fionn Hand, Joshua Little
Key Players
Glenn Phillips: The middle-order batter has been in superb form. Phillips scored a match-winning century against Sri Lanka and followed that up with another excellent knock of 62 from 36 deliveries against England. He has been brilliant in a very tough middle-order role and will be the key to New Zealand's success in this contest once again.
Josh Little: The left-arm pacer is Ireland's highest wicket-taker in this T20 World Cup. Little has claimed eight wickets so far, at an excellent strike rate of 17.2 and he has maintained a pretty good economy rate of 7.26 to go with that as well. He has bowled equally well in all phases of the innings and will be looking to deliver another good performance against the Kiwis.
==
All posters please take note of the following guidelines for match threads on PakPassion:
1. No personal insults at other posters, players, officials, coaching staffs etc.
2. No making fun of player's, official's, coaching staff's names.
3. Do not add any references to media, their social media or post any pictures or screenshots from other sports websites.
4. Stick to commenting on this match. There is no need to bring other countries into the match discussion as there are plenty of other threads where those discussions can be added.
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and fought SA in a tight game at Perth. This team has overachieved 
