Bracewells's last over heroics takes NZ to victory in the 1st ODI against Ireland

Michael Bracewell played an unbelievable knock to clinch the victory for his team in the 1st ODI against Ireland. The visitors chased down a mammoth total of 301 in the very last over with one wicket in hand and a ball to spare. The hosts were put in to bat as New Zealand opted to bowl first after winning the toss. Ireland had a poor start of their inning as they lost Paul Stirling in just the 2nd over and skipper Andrew Balbirnie in the 7th over with just 26 runs on the scoreboard. Andy McBrine and Harry Tector added 60 runs for the 3rd wicket before McBrine departed for 39 runs in the 21st over. Tector then put up a 94-run stand with Curtis Campher and a 61-run stand with Lorcan Tucker and went on to score his maiden ODI century before getting dismissed in the 44th over for 113 runs. A late but quick cameo of 30 runs in 19 balls from Simi Singh helped Ireland to post a total of 300/9 in their 50 overs. Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner and Ish Sodhi got 2 wickets each.

Chasing the target, the Blackcaps never looked on track as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Opener Martin Guptill did managed to score a half-century and Glenn Phillips scored 38 crucial runs to keep the chase alive. Michael Bracewell then put up a show as he started scoring runs quickly. He added 61 runs for the 7th wicket with Ish Sodhi and 64 runs for the 9th wicket with Lockie Ferguson before he smashed his remarkable maiden ODI ton. The visitors needed 20 runs in the last over and Bracewell pulled off this extraordinary chase with a ball to spare as he remained unbeaten on 127 runs in just 82 balls with the help of 10 fours and 7 maximums.

Curtis Campher was the most successful bowler for Ireland as he took 3 wickets for 49 runs in his 10 overs. Mark Adair got 2 wickets, Craig Young, Joshua Little, and Andy McBrine found one scalp each. Michael Bracewell for his heroic knock was adjudged as player of the match. The 2nd ODI match of this 3-match series will be played on July 12 in Dublin where Ireland will look to make a comeback to level the series whereas New Zealand will try to push their lead to clinch the series convincingly.