SHARJAH: A disciplined bowling performance, led by Eden Carson powered New Zealand to edge past West Indies by eight runs and qualify for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 final.
Set to chase a modest 129, the former champions only managed to amass 120/8 in the allotted 20 overs despite Deandra Dottin’s brisk knock.
West Indies had a shaky start to the pursuit as they lost two quick wickets, Qiana Joseph (12) and Shemaine Campbelle (3), inside five overs with just 20 runs on the board.
Following the slump, returning Stafanie Taylor joined skipper Hayley Matthews and together they raised a cautious 21-run partnership until the former was cleaned up by Carson on 13 as West Indies slipped to 41/3 in 8.5 overs.
Coming out to bat at No.5, Dottin took the reigns of West Indies’ run chase with a counterattacking knock.
She smashed three sixes on her way to top score for West Indies with a 22-ball 33.
Dottin had kept West Indies on track, courtesy of her sixth-wicket partnership with Afy Fletcher but her untimely dismissal diminished the 2016 champions’ hopes.
West Indies slipped further to 97/7 when Fran Jonas struck in the next over, dismissing Chedean Nation for a duck.
Fletcher was then supported by Zaid James, who had glimmered a ray of hope by hitting Suzie Bates for a four on the first delivery of the final over, bringing the equation down to 11 off five.
James, however, failed to continue and was cleaned up by Bates on the third delivery without adding further runs and walked back in disgust after playing a fighting 14-run knock from eight balls.
Fletcher got the strike on the penultimate delivery with West Indies needing 10 but managed only one and remained unbeaten 17 on 15.
Carson was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand, courtesy of her three wickets, followed by Amelia Kerr with two scalps. Fran Jonas, Lea Tahuhu and Bates, on the other hand, made one scalp each.
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New Zealand captain Sophie Devine’s decision to bat first backfired as the White Ferns had to settle for a modest total.
New Zealand had a steady start to their innings, courtesy of a cautious 48-run opening stand between Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer.
The duo frustrated the former champions until Karishma Ramharack provided them with a much-needed breakthrough in the ninth over by bowling Bates, who made 26 off 28.
Plimmer then put together a brief partnership with Amelia Kerr, which yielded 17 runs before both perished in successive overs to leave New Zealand reeling at 69/3 in 12.1 overs.
Georgia Plimmer remained the top-scorer for New Zealand with a grafting 33 off 31 balls with the help of three fours and a six.
Skipper Devine was then joined by Brooke Halliday, who gave a minor push to New Zealand’s scoring rate with a brisk cameo. She made 18 off nine deliveries before falling victim to Dottin in the 15th over.
Halliday shared a crucial 27-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Devine, who followed suit in the next over, departing for a run-a-ball 12.
Deandra Dottin then posed a double blow to New Zealand in the next over, dismissing Maddy Green (3) and Rosemary Mair (2) to bring the total down to 104/7 in 16.4 overs.
Wicketkeeper batter Isabelle Gaze then offered some resistance at the backend with a fighting knock. She remained unbeaten with a 14-ball 20.
Dottin was the standout bowler for the West Indies, returning brilliant bowling figures of 4/22, followed by Afy Fletcher with two wickets, while Ramharack and Aaliyah Alleyne shared two wickets between them.
New Zealand will now face South Africa in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 final, scheduled at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Sunday.
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