T20 World Cup 2022: Can Ireland pull another surprise against the Group one leaders, New Zealand?

New Zealand will start the game as firm favourites. They thrashed Australia in their opening game of the Super 12s and have only lost once since then – to England in their previous game. 

And they do have the players to cause damage. But that doesn’t mean it’s wise to write off the Irish on the day. Ask West Indies and England how that feels. 

This Irish side is a unique enigma. They don’t have the players to cause damage consistently, and their form against the top sides can be patchy at best. 

However, they tend to have it in them to spring and upset now and again. Indeed, their Duckworth Lewis Stern (DLS) method win over England threw a spanner in the works for the English side. 

If they had won that game, they’d have been favourites to finish atop the group. That can still happen – but not on England’s terms. And they have the Irish to thank – or blame – for that! 

And it is worth noting that New Zealand has weaknesses of its own. They will hope that their brittle top order comes good in this game. 

Finn Allen has fallen to the side after his explosives in the first game against Australia. Devon Conway has scored 96 runs in the tournament, but 92 came in a single match. 

As for Kane Williamson, he is in ODI mode of batting. The New Zealand skipper has had a torrid time with the bat and is currently scoring runs at a strike rate of less than 100. 

However, one of the critical factors that work against Ireland is their lack of wicket-taking pacers. Barring Josh Little, their quicks have yet to make an impact. 

Even their batting hasn’t exactly set the world on fire, barring Lorcan Tucker’s excellent 71 against Australia. They haven’t been able to make the same impact they did in the qualifiers. 

Ireland are still in with a chance to make it to the semis mathematically, but their campaign is over for all intents and purposes. 

It would take something remarkable to make it to the semis, but they’ve done well in the tournament. 

Thus, it would be safe to say that writing off the Irish players would be unwise – especially since New Zealand look far from a secure, impregnable side. 

However, the odds don’t favour them, and they will need some good old-fashioned Irish luck to end the tournament on a high – and register their third major scalp of the game.