Third ODI at The Village, Malahide: New Zealand 360-6 (Martin Guptill 115, Henry Nicholls 79, Glenn Phillips 47; Josh Little 2-84) beat Ireland 359-9 (Paul Stirling 120, Harry Tector 108; Matt Henry 4-68, Mitchell Santner 3-71) with one run.
Blair Tickner kept his nerves in check in a thrilling final to break Irish hearts again.
Ireland needed 10 runs from six balls to take their first win over the Black Caps in history and came up short in a high scoring thriller in Malahide (NZT) on Saturday morning.
Three runs from the last ball would have done the trick, but debutant Graham Hume could only move air with his swing, resulting in a lone bye.
It ended a 3-0 series sweep for the Black Caps, after their one-wicket and three-wicket wins through the week.
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Missing firepower in the form of Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Trent Boult and Tim Southee, the Black Caps were pushed into all three matches.
Ireland will especially regret the first game, when they conceded 24 runs in the final over and Saturday’s gut puncher.
After all, opener Paul Stirling (120) and Harry Tector (108) have been chasing dazzling ages in their hunt for New Zealand’s 360-6, and they’ll know they should have come home when they went into the final 10 overs and needed 82 runs with five wickets in the can.
But Mitchell Santner’s dismissal of Tector, who also scored a century in the first ODI, in the 43rd over, was a game-changer, slowing their momentum and putting the heat on their lower order.
Ben Whitley/Photosport
Ireland’s Harry Tector scored two grand against the Black Caps in three games.
Nevertheless, after Glenn Phillips dropped a difficult chance at a deep mid-wicket – dropping three on the day, including a nanny left – in the final, Ireland got the equation back to five needed from three balls.
Craig Young was exhausted trying two of the next delivery, before Tickner kept his cool with the final delivery of the match.
The pain of another brutal defeat was written on the faces of the Irish, who had to haunt after Black Caps captain Tom Latham chose to bat for the first time in the series.
“It was a great game, we did a good job fighting them. Bitter pill to swallow, but it was great,” said Irish captain Andy Balbirnie.
Latham praised his composure over the last 10 overs, a period when New Zealand gave the Irish nothing but Phillips’ difficult drop, and Santner coughed up five for a pitch that he dragged well down the side of the leg.
Opener Martin Guptill was knocked down for a duck off the first pitch in the second game and hit a penalty 115 out of 126 in New Zealand’s innings.
He and Finn Allen smashed Ireland’s early doors, hitting 15 fours and a six in the first 10 overs on a batter-friendly surface alone.
Only Will Young, who played himself for three, failed to score double digits among Kiwi batters, with Henry Nicholls (79 of 54) finding an overdue form.
The big moment
If Tector could have his time again, he’d suspend the premeditated reverse slog he tried against Santner.
Santner’s throw set back Tector’s center punch, ending his great knock and leaving Ireland with another 51 from 39 balls.
Tector will know that it would almost certainly have been a different story if he had gone too far.
Best with the bat
“I lost my father five years ago and it was nice to do this for him,” Guptill said after receiving his man-of-the-match award.
One of the three century makers on the day, the Black Caps’ opener hit 15 fours and two sixes en route to its 18th ODI ton.
Ben Whitley/Photosport
Black Caps bowler Matt Henry was great in the three ODIs against Ireland.
Best with the ball
Matt Henry capped off a super run with the cue ball, hitting 4-68 on a day when most bowlers tap a lot.
Charged with bowling at death, Henry took a wicket and allowed just 16 runs from his last two overs.
The big picture
Pushed more than most could have chosen, don’t underestimate how valuable these matches will be to the inexperienced players of the Black Caps in the long run.
Now on to three Twenty20 games against the Irish in Belfast, which start on Tuesday morning.