TAROUBA, TRINIDAD: West Indies beat New Zealand by 13 runs in the T20 World Cup 2024 on Thursday at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad.
Chasing 150, New Zealand were restricted to 136-9 in 20 overs.
New Zealand were left on the verge of exiting the T20 World Cup as they suffered their second defeat in as many matches in Group C.
Meanwhile, West Indies qualified for the Super 8 after three straight wins. They beat Uganda and Papua New Guinea in their previous matches.
During the run, Glenn Phillips was the top scorer for New Zealand with 40 off 33 balls. However, the Black Cages struggled to build momentum throughout the innings as they lost consecutive wickets.
Alzarri Joseph finished with figures of 4-19, while Gudakesh Motie took 3-25.
Batting first, West Indies posted 149-9 in the allotted 20 overs. At one stage, sliding to 7-76 in the 13th over, the home side looked set to post a lower total.
However, Sherfane Rutherford smashed a 39-ball 68 to help the Windies post a competitive total. He had two fours and a maximum six in his innings.
“I want to thank God for the opportunity. I will keep 68 close to my heart. I was in the IPL for two months, even if I did not play, I was preparing. I worked hard and I did my planning. It is simple and keep skills me – I think that’s the key, I just said I have to go inside and I talked to Sammy and then I know I can fix it,” said Rutherford after receiving the player of the year award.
West Indies scored 37 in the last two overs as New Zealand’s top bowlers took full advantage of the fact that they had finished. Daryl Mitchell made 19 in the last over and Mitchell Santner made 18 in the last over.
Trent Boult took impressive figures of 3-16 in four overs for New Zealand. The left-armsman had also subdued the girl during his spell.
Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson also got two goals each.
New Zealand suffered a heavy defeat in their opening match against Afghanistan. Now they need to win their remaining two matches by a good margin and hope for another result to stay alive in the Super 8 tournament.
New Zealand made three changes for today’s match. Tim Southee replaces Matt Henry, James Neesham replaces Michael Brightwell and Racine Ravindra replaces Mark Chapman.
