WC warm-up: Guptill ton helps NZ beat Ireland
Nagpur: New Zealand overpowered a spirited Irish challenge to win the first warm-up game by 32 runs at the VDCA Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur on Saturday.
Chasing a stiff target of 312 for victory, the Ireland batsmen put up an impressive performance before experienced Kiwis bowled well at the death as the minnows were all-out for 279 in 48.2 overs. It was New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori who scalped four for 42 to guide his team to an unimpressive win after Irish top-order threatened to take the game away.
Credit should be given to Ireland captain William Porterfield (72, 74 balls, 8x4, 1x6) and young opener Paul Stirling (39) for smashing the New Zealand bowlers during the field restrictions as they raced their way to 93 inside 13 overs.
One Porterfield was dismissed by pacer Hamish Bennett in the 23rd over caught by James Franklin, the Irishmen lost the momentum. There were some good contributions from Ed Joyce (41), Niall O'Brien (32) and Trent Johnston (33) but that wasn't enough as Vettori put the brakes on run-rate during middle overs.
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