In the third and final ODI of the three-match series, New Zealand and Ireland engaged in yet another exciting battle. Three centurions - Ireland's Paul Stirling, Harry Tector ad New Zealand's Martin Guptill, made the game a nail-biting thriller. On the field, the Black Caps' centurion had a poignant moment as he dedicated his century to his deceased father.
Martin Guptill's century helped New Zealand to score a whopping 360 runs on the board. Henry Nicholls’ 54-ball 79 runs also paid him off well.
When chasing 361 runs, Irish opener Paul Stirling was at his best. He received excellent support from middle order batsman Harry Tector as the two combined for a century stand and both scored hundreds. Unfortunately, their knocks were ineffective.
During the post-game ceremony, Guptill accepted the Player of the Match trophy for his 126-ball 115, which was notable as being his 18th ODI century. He added, "I lost my dad five years ago, and it was nice to do this for him." Guptill’s father passed away in 2017.
“A bit of an innings of two halves, really, out of the blocks pretty quickly, felt really good up until about 75, then I just got myself stuck in a bit of a hole and couldn’t rotate the strike as well as I had been and just got a little bit frustrated,” Guptill said about his knock.
“It’s going to be pretty exciting again, I’d say. Shorter format, faster pace, it’s going to be good. I know our boys are looking forward to playing some T20 cricket leading into the World Cup later this year,” Guptill added.