Rutherford came into the batting order when West Indies were 4-22 ahead in the Powerplay. It was only his second time in 15 T20Is that he had faced the ball in the Powerplay. He responded with a career-best effort that not only saved the collapse but also put West Indies in a strong position.
“We told the players that someone has to play blinder,” Powell said after the match. “It’s not going to be an easy wicket because of the weather. We always believe that in T20 cricket, you need a certain amount of individual brilliance and Sherpa’s innings was fantastic. It gave us confidence and by the halfway point we believed (we could win).”
After scoring 31 runs from 27 balls, Rutherford hit three sixes off Daryl Mitchell in the 19th over, which cost New Zealand 19 runs. Then in the last over, he hit two fours and a six against left-armed finger-spinner Mitchell Santner to beat him.
“The margin of the game is good and in those situations, if you have two or three balls that match up, that can be the difference,” Williamson said in his post-match press conference. “We saw a fantastic knock from Rutherford and he definitely timed the match up beautifully. I think that was the difference in the end.”
Rutherford’s knock was a legitimate factor in the difference between the two teams tonight, but it was also as good as I’ve seen West Indies bowl for some time. Alzarri Joseph was as good as I’ve seen in this format.
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) June 13, 2024
“I had been in the IPL for two months, so I was preparing (there) even though I wasn’t playing,” Rutherford said. “I had a lot of work and planning. It was key to keep it simple and support myself.
“I just told myself to dig deep. Me and (Darren) Sammy were talking and he said, ‘Try to dig deep.’ The deeper I dug, the more I started to feel the momentum and I thought I’d always make it back eventually.”
Williamson: NZ’s golden generation is not over
“They’re still going to be here for a while,” Williamson said. “I think if we look at the two games we played to start with… it’s disappointing, no doubt. Coming into a world event, you want to get off to a good start and, frankly, we’ve got to get better, especially in these circumstances. We knew it was going to be a real fight and it wasn’t going to be easy. But when you win the little moments, the matchup will tip in your favor and that can really be the defining factor of the entire tournament and it didn’t happen for us, and that’s disappointing.”
Williamson said sending the fast bowlers up front was a gamble worth taking given the bowler-friendly conditions that offered a variety of bounces throughout the evening.
“We knew we had to take Rutherford off and the West Indies batting depth really shines and it definitely worked for them on that surface today,” Williamson said. “You know it’s going to be sloppy and three balls here or there can really push the score above average and that’s what they can do. So, I think it was worth it for us to take that wicket and have a chance to restrict them to the 120 area but it didn’t quite work.
“I think every over we bowl will be a target and that’s the margins you deal with in T20 cricket these days because teams are batting more and it’s always a cat and mouse game.”
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo.
