Watch: Michael Bracewell gets his maiden hat-trick in his first-ever over for New Zealand

Offspinner Michael Bracewell of New Zealand made his mark with a hat-trick in his maiden T20I over, prompting an Ireland collapse. He contributed to his team's smashing 88-run victory. Bracewell, who was playing in his second T20I, joined Tim Southee and Jacob Oram as the third bowler from the team to accomplish the feat.

Ireland, needing to win and save the series, was reduced to 54/7. However, Mark Adair took charge in the 12th over with two fours and a six off consecutive deliveries from legspinner Ish Sodhi. Mitchell Santner, the captain of New Zealand, handed the ball to Bracewell to bowl the 14th over after two more boundaries in the previous over.

The 31-tear-old, bowling his first-ever T20I over, was hit for a four and a single on the first two balls. Adair then attempted a big hit but was caught by Glenn Phillips in the deep midwicket area. Barry McCarthy was dismissed on the very next ball in a similar fashion. Craig Young ultimately gave Bracewell his hat-trick by slicing a short delivery to Sodhi at short third man for a first-ball duck.

Watch the video here

HAT-TRICK! #MichaelBracewell breezes past Ireland tail.
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.#IREvNZ @BLACKCAPS @cricketireland pic.twitter.com/aZNuFNiVHK

— FanCode (@FanCode) July 20, 2022

He ended with the figures of 5/3 from 0.5 overs. Ireland was dismissed for 91 runs in 13.5 overs, giving New Zealand a commanding 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. Earlier, Dean Clever played a fantastic knock of 78 runs in 55 balls, with five fours and four sixes in the innings. While Finn Allen (35 runs in 20 balls) also made a cameo, New Zealand managed a score of 179 runs.

Ireland could not make much of an impact with the bat in the following innings. They faced a batting collapse and were all out for just 91 runs. Mark Adair, with 27 runs in 22 balls, was the highest scorer for the home team. For the Black Caps, Jacob Duffy and Lockie Ferguson each got two wickets, while Michael Bracewell and Ish Sodhi took two and one, respectively.

The final match of the series will be played on the 22nd of July at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast.