Published: May 21, 2017, 06:58 PM (IST)
Edited: May 21, 2017, 07:19 PM (IST)
New Zealand‘s Tom Latham registered his first ton as skipper in the fifth ODI of the Tri-Nation series versus Ireland. Opting to field, William Porterfield’s men continued to leak runs courtesy an erratic bowling display. As a result, Kiwis powered themselves to a mammoth score of 344 for 6 in 50 overs. Latham struck a valiant ton, off 111 balls, and led the innings along with valuable support from Luke Ronchi, Neil Broom and Ross Taylor. The pitch is batting-friendly, but the Irishmen have a humongous task to chase the total against a pretty disciplined bowling line-up. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Ireland vs New Zealand, 5th ODI at Dublin
Ronchi and Latham started the innings on a promising note with both settling in and scoring runs at will. Ronchi (35) was dismissed off a yorker from Craig Young in the 11th over. Neil Broom came in at No. 3 and struck another vital partnership with Latham as the duo bought some time in the middle, but did not let the run-rate drop down. Latham was aggressive, contrary to his reputation, and even hammered 9 fours and 4 sixes in his stay at the middle.
Ross Taylor also joined the party with a fluent 57 off 64 balls. The late impetus was provided by Colin Munro (44 off 15 balls) while Mitchell Santner also played a cameo. Craig Young and Peter Chase were among wickets but conceded runs above 8. Simi Singh was the most economical bowler with figures of 10-0-38-0.
New Zealand made 4 changes in their playing XI and will like to maintain dominance over hapless hosts in defence of a big score amidst showers. Ireland, with only 2 points, will be eager to put up a better show with the willow. They have been disappointing courtesy some poor strokeplay and soft dismissals.
Brief Scores:
New Zealand 344 for 6 in 50 overs (Tom Latham 104, Ross Taylor 57, Colin Munro 44; Craig Young 2 for 83, Peter Chase 2 for 69) vs Ireland.
