New Zealand is currently touring Ireland and is almost going to finish the tour with the third T20I which is going to take place on 22^nd July in Belfast. The second T20I got underway in Belfast on 20^th July which New Zealand won quite easily. The biggest contribution in the second T20I came from a rather new player as Michael Bracewell bags a hat-trick in his very first over of the T20I career.

Michael Bracewell bags a hat-trick in his first T20I over

Ireland has been brilliant in their home series in the ODI format, but they haven’t been able to replicate the same in the ongoing T20I series. While they gave a tough fight to the Kiwis in one-day internationals, the shortest format saw them bow down quite easily. The same was seen in the second T20I where Michael Bracewell bagged a hat-trick and wrapped up the game in style.

Irish captain Andrew Balbirnie opted to bowl first after winning the toss and the Kiwi batsmen scored 179 in their allotted 20 overs. Dane Cleaver was the highest run-getter for New Zealand as he made 78 runs in just 55 deliveries. The chase turned out to be a stiff one for Ireland and when a partnership was starting to flourish, Michael Bracewell’s hat-trick put an end to the revival of the Irish inning.

Michael Bracewell bags a hat-trick in the 14^th over of the Irish inning when McCarthy and Mark Adair were trying to get close to the target. Bracewell was hit for a boundary on the first ball of the over, but the bowler came back in great fashion as he took three back-to-back wickets on consecutive deliveries and bagged a hat-trick in his very first over in T20I cricket.

HAT-TRICK! #MichaelBracewell breezes past Ireland tail.
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.#IREvNZ @BLACKCAPS @cricketireland pic.twitter.com/aZNuFNiVHK

— FanCode (@FanCode) July 20, 2022

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The hat-trick meant that the Ireland team was all-out on a petty 91 runs and New Zealand secured an easy win by a whopping 88 runs. The third and the last T20I of the series will be played on Friday and the Irish team will enter the field to play for their honour, while the Kiwis will try to complete a clean sweep.