New Zealand crush Pakistan to secure first win of WWT20
─ both teams did not make it to the semis
DPI, Guyana, Friday, November 16, 2018
New Zealand picked up their first win of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s World T20 after dismantling Pakistan last evening at the Guyana National Stadium. The New Zealand side defeated Pakistan by 54 runs after making a huge total of 144 runs for the loss of six wickets.
The Kiwi ladies in their innings came out firing, finding the boundary more often with their opening pair Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine, who accounted for 59 runs. This was just before Bates placed the ball back into the hands of bowler Nida Dar, giving Pakistan their first wicket. However, by the end of the 10th over, the New Zealand women posted a healthy score with 66 runs for the loss of one wicket with a lot of firepower left to bat.
Devine followed in the 12th over after posting 32 runs. Nevertheless, KJ Martin and AE Satterthwaite helped propel the Kiwis to the huge total accompanied by a few boundaries by Maddy Green.
Pakistan, in their innings, also came out firing hitting seven boundaries in the first three overs. However, the New Zealand spinners Jess Watkin and Amelia Kerr began to dismantle the batting lineup of the Pakistan team. The pair began to pick up wickets at regular intervals. Bamboozled, the Pakistan ladies could not find an answer for the spin twins and were limited to a mere total of 90 all out in just 18 overs. The pair ended with magnificent bowling figures of Watkin 3-9 and Kerr 3-21. Watkin also walked away with Player of the Match.
While both sides have failed to qualify in their group, Captain of the New Zealand team Satterthwaite, during the post-match press conference, said that it was nice to have something positive to talk about. “We wanted to try something with the top order and obviously it didn’t work, and that’s why we went back to the original combination. I think Jess bowled beautifully today, nice to see her confidently gripping the ball and get the job done. Pleased with the way Martin has come into this team” she said.
Pakistan Captain Javeria Khan noted that sloppy fielding was their downfall stating that they should have restricted the New Zealand side to 110 runs. According to Khan, she was “happy with the intent, but still, the batsmen have to bat through… Their bowlers extracted turn. It’s altogether a different scenario when you chase and I should have taken the responsibility and batted through. We are proud of the way the girls have played in this tournament, hopefully, we’ll learn from our mistakes. As long as we play, we will get exposure. We’ll hold our nerves and we’ll play better cricket in pressure situations.”
Summary: New Zealand women 144 for 6 (Bates 35, Devine 32, Riaz 2-29) beat Pakistan women 90 (Javeria 36, Watkin 3-9, Kerr 3-21) by 54 runs
Isaiah Braithwaite.
Images: Kennyann Bacchus.