Ireland vs New Zealand, 3rd T20I at Belfast, IRE v NZ, Jul 22 2022 - Ball by Ball Commentary

Santner is all smiles as he collects the trophy. The New Zealand team get together for a group photo. Excellent tour for them and an excellent series win. That will be it from us today. Hope you enjoyed our coverage. There is more cricket to look forward to, though, with South Africa struggling to chase 202 against England and West Indies having started their 309-run chase nicely. On behalf of Sreshth and Vairavan, this is me Ashish signing off, from here. See you all soon.

New Zealand captain, Mitchell Santner: [On the 3-0 victory] A little bit closer, obviously it was a hard-fought series. We were lucky enough to get over the line. [On the performance of the new guys] For sure, it's a credit to our depth at the moment that these guys are coming and stepping up straight away. It puts us in a good place. Obviously, a few big names aren't here but the guys coming in and taking the opportunity was outstanding. [What do you put that down to?] The guys that have come in like (Michael) Bracewell and Dane Cleaver have played a lot of domestic cricket and been around for a long time and done pretty well. When they are getting their opportunity, they are making the most of it and, obviously, it puts NZ cricket in a pretty good spot. We pride ourselves on team first and different guys getting different roles and everyone understands their roles and it was a tough series, but great to get the W. The weather has been great over the six games and it has been a very close series.

Here's Andrew Balbirnie, the Ireland captain: [On the improvement in the team's performance] That's what we wanted to do batting first, we wanted to set a good score. I thought that was a pretty good score. It was potentially the best wicket of the week, so we knew we had a decent score. But that was a pretty impressive chase and a bit of a lesson in how to chase a total like that. [On the secret behind putting a tall score] If you lose four in the power play, chasing any total, you are in trouble. We were a bit better today in our power play cricket. I thought the guys came in the middle and towards the end to get some really good stuff together. Again, it's a game we have lost and we have got to look at ourselves and make improvements for the next series. [On Mark Adair and Curtis Campher's cameos] We talk about taking momentum in the second innings whether it is in the field or with the bat. We managed to have a tight couple of overs first up but it wasn't to be and you got to take your hats off to the Blackcaps, the way they have carried themselves both on and off the field over the last two weeks. It is a bit of a lesson to us as to how to go about it. It is a shame we couldn't come up with a win over the last two weeks, but we have really enjoyed our cricket. [Looking forward to South Africa and Afghanistan] We got to Bristol next week, which we are all looking forward to. As long as we are improving and playing good cricket, that's all I will be asking the lads.

Glenn Phillips is the Player of the Match and Player of the Series: [On his series] It was very much a team effort all the way around, from Lockie (Ferguson) taking four from the first one to the way Daryl (Mitchell) and Neesh (James Neesham) finished at the end here, today. It was a great effort from all the boys, all around. [On the running between the wickets] We talk about it a lot; it is always something that keeps the energy up throughout the whole innings. It is almost an attitudinal thing for us. We really have been trying to push that going forward and especially with the T20 WC in Australia coming with big boundaries, it is a real key for us going forward. [On his half-century in the first T20I] I think it is very much just trying to play the situation as it comes. I would have liked to have a higher strike rate today but, in the end, it is a team game and the way Daryl and Neesh went, compensates for it. There is different roles that have to be played in each team and in each game and I think that was just my role at this point in time. There might be a different role next time.

Daryl Mitchell: [On his innings] It was nice to get back into some T20 cricket and awesome to be back with the boys and always nice to get a series win. [On the running between the wickets] That is something we spoke about as a team, and we take pride in and something that we want to keep trying to work on. It was nice to do a bit of running. The lungs definitely took a bit of hit there for a period of time, but, yes, nice to get the job done. [Thought process with Phillips] We always tried to keep the rate in check. We knew there was a shorter side and we were targeting that and being smart at the other end. The way Glenn managed the innings and brought us home was awesome.

Presentation time

7.25 pm An excellent chase by New Zealand and they end the tour undefeated, winning the third T20I with an over to spare. Ireland had their moments throughout the chase but they just couldn't string in the tight overs as New Zealand timed their chase to perfection. Having reduced the visitors to 65 for 3 in the eighth over, Ireland would have fancied their chances of defending 174 but Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell were superb in their 82-run stand for the fourth wicket. Phillips remained unbeaten on 56 off 44 balls and had good support first from Mitchell and then Neesham, who also smashed 23* off 6 balls to get the side home.

As I said. Win Probability: NZ 98.20% IRE 1.80%

Kb: "Phillips really is the incredible DASH of cricket. Damn he's fast. Wonder who will win in a sprint amongst Phillips/dhoni/Kohli." Hmm, good question.

Young comes in from over the wicket

James Neesham is the new man in but he won't be on strike

Kris : "This is the difference between having experience and not having experience. Ireland were well on top after guppy's wicket but Mitchell and Phillips knew how to rotate strike and keep the runrate under control rather than going hard. Ireland shouldn't have let that happen."

Josh Little from over the wicket now