Courtesy: ICC
On Monday, October 14, Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian cricket team bowed out of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 after New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 54 runs in their final Group A match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. India needed Pakistan to defeat New Zealand, to help them reach the semi-final of the tournament, but it wasn’t to be as the Women in Maroon capitulated with the bat while chasing a modest target of 111 runs.
For the unversed, after winning the toss, Sophie Devine, the captain of New Zealand, decided to bat first, following which Suzie Bates (28 off 29) and Georgia Plimmer (17 off 14) provided a decent start to the innings, putting together a 41-run opening stand in 6.3 overs. But, within a span of a few overs, both the White Ferns openers were back in the pavilion before Amelia Kerr was dismissed for a single-digit score.
Suzie Bates top scored for New Zealand with 28 runs against Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup 2024 match
Captain Sophie Devine (19 off 25) and Brooke Halliday (22 off 24) tried hard on a slowish pitch to push the scoring rate forward, but their partnership of 38 runs was broken in the 18th over. New Zealand ultimately managed to score 110/6 in their allotted overs despite the sloppiness in the field from Pakistan, dropping more than a dozen catches, while their best bowler on the evening was Nashra Sandhu, who picked up figures of 3/18 in her four-over spell.
In the run chase, Pakistan had a horrible start as five of their top six batters were back in the pavilion with single-digit scores to their name, with the team total reading 28/5 after the power play stage. New Zealand bowlers kept on chipping away at the wickets, and bundled out Pakistan for just 56 runs in 11.4 overs with their captain Fatima Sana fighting hard with 21 off 23.
With this defeat for Pakistan, the two semi-finalists from Group A in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 are defending champions Australia and New Zealand, with the latter crushing the hopes of the Indian cricket team by finishing in second place in the standings.
