West Indies stormed into the T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 after beating New Zealand by 13 runs on Thursday at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad. With the win, Rovman Powell’s men also went to the top of the table with wins in all 3 of their matches.
The Black Caps, on the other hand, kept languishing at the bottom of the table and are on the verge of getting knocked out. For them to stay alive, Uganda have to beat Afghanistan on June 15.
After being asked to bat first, West Indies found themselves in dire straits. With their score at 23 for 4 in the powerplay, the co-hosts looked hapless, to say the least. Nicholas Pooran threw his bat around to score 17 runs off 12 balls and was the only batter to pose a threat to the Kiwi bowlers in the first 6 overs. Pooran also went past Chris Gayle to become the leading run-scorer for the Caribbean in T20Is.
Pooran got out to Tim Southee, who replaced Matt Henry, while playing an agricultural swipe. Southee, Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson hunted in pack to leave the West Indies batting in shambles. But from there on, Sherfane Rutherford put on a single-handed show and guided West Indies to 149 for 9.
Rutherford used the long handle to good effect and stayed not out on 68 off 39 balls with the help of 2 fours and 6 sixes. He made sure that West Indies injected momentum into the innings by taking 37 runs off the last 2 overs. Akeal Hosein, Andre Russell and Romario Shepherd chipped in with short yet useful contributions lower down the order.
Boult was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers with figures of 4-1-16-3. Southee and Ferguson accounted for 2 scalps apiece.
The Black Caps struggled throughout their run-chase and were restricted to 139 for 9. Finn Allen scored 26 runs off 23 balls with 3 fours and a six before Alzarri Joseph dismissed him. Joseph also picked up the wickets of Southee, Glenn Phillips and James Neesham to finish with figures of 4-0-19-4.
Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie also bowled his heart out with 3 wickets to his name for 25 runs. On the back of their spells, West Indies never allowed the Kiwis to get ahead in the match.
Glenn Phillips scored 40 runs off 33 balls and threatened for a while. With 33 runs needed off the last over, Mitchell Santner hit Romario Shepherd for 3 sixes, but his efforts fell short of saving the day for New Zealand.
