New Zealand 128 beats in 9 (Plimmer 33, Dottin 4-22, Fletcher 2-23) west indies 8-for-120 (Dotin 33, Carson 3-29, Kerr 2-14) with 8 runs scored.
New Zealand advanced to the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time in 14 years after beating 2016 champions West Indies by eight runs in a low-scoring thriller in Sharjah. New Zealand will face South Africa, the runners-up in the 2023 edition, as the inaugural tournament for champions is scheduled.
New Zealand were not perfect, dropping five catches from the field, but their bowlers found a way to deny the West Indies to 120 for 8.
CARSON, EARLY ADVANCE
Carson was New Zealand’s powerplay bowler at this stage, taking four of the five wickets before the semi-finals. On Friday she once again set the tone with the ball. After conceding two fours to Qiana Joseph, the off-spinner bowled a long ball to middle that went past the batsman’s swipe and knocked her stumps. Soon 16 for no loss became 20 for 2 when Carson threw one wide to Shemaine Campbelle, forcing her to miss a shot towards extra cover, before Suzie Bates took a diving catch. The wicket slowed West Indies down as Matthews and Taylor moved at a snail’s pace. Carson came back in the ninth over when Matthews and Taylor hit a four each to pick up the pace, but the off-spinner had the last laugh and was 13 off 20 balls as Taylor mistimed a slog sweep. She finished with 3-for-29 and Most Valuable Player honors.
West Indies dominate the powerplay
Matthews was happy to bowl first, which was evident in the way they started with the ball. In the first six overs, West Indies kept New Zealand quiet, leaking just 32 runs while maintaining the same spin and pace. Fast bowler Chinelle Henry bowled three of her four overs within the powerplay, hitting difficult lengths and extracting movement in the air and on the surface to keep Bates and Georgia Plimmer out of action. At this stage, two of New Zealand’s three fours were free. Zaida James was completely thrown in and Henry over-delivered. Plimmer struggled to find his timing early on. Bates tried to come down across the track looking for a fast run, but it had little effect.
Dottin is taking New Zealand by storm.
It didn’t matter that Dottin was bowling only for the second time in this T20 World Cup. She brings her 10 years of experience to a pitch that is not easy to bat on. She mostly bowled perfectly straight, mixing it cleverly with slow deliveries just enough to trouble New Zealand. Dottin removed Kerr for 7 off the second ball. But quick starts by Brooke Halliday and Devine revived the inning. The duo added 27 off the next 14 balls.
However, the momentum swung towards the West Indies once again in the 15th over of Dottin’s second over. Play was briefly halted after Halliday was hit on the left foot by a ball thrown at deep midwicket. Dottin fired the next ball for a yorker. Halliday missed hitting the bat and saw her pin the stumps back. She hit 18 off 9 balls.
In the next over, Afy Fletcher dismissed Devine for a run-a-ball for 12, leaving New Zealand on 98 for 5 with Maddy Green and Isabella Gaze needing them to go one step further. But Dottin denied them that opportunity. She first sent back Green and then trapped Rosemary Mair lbw with the help of DRS. At 104 for 7, New Zealand appeared to have lost the plot. But they managed 24 off the last three overs, which proved crucial in the end.
Srinidhi Ramanujam is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo.
