The West Indies Women came agonizingly short of a second trip to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final after suffering an eight-run loss to New Zealand in their semi-final in Sharjah on Friday.
New Zealand first made 128-9 off their 20 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat first.
Openers Georgia Plimmer and Suzie Bates were the main run getters with 33 and 26, respectively, while Isabella Gaze made a crucial 20* off 14 balls at the backend of the innings.
Deandra Dottin produced an excellent spell of bowling with 4-22 from her four overs while Afy Fletcher continued her good form with the ball in the tournament with 2-23 from three overs.
Karishma Ramharack and Aaliyah Alleyne split the other two wickets.
The West Indies then came up just short of their target in the end, reaching 120-8 off their 20 overs.
Openers Qiana Joseph and captain Hayley Matthews put on 16 for the first wicket before Joseph went for 12 with two balls remaining in the third over.
The wickets of Shemaine Campbelle (3) and the returning Stafanie Taylor (13) followed soon after leaving the Windies 41-3 in the ninth over.
Not long after, all hope seemed lost as Matthews went for a hard-fought 15 off 21 balls in the 11th over before Aaliyah Alleyne’s wicket for four in the 14th over left the West Indies looking all but beaten at 63-5.
A fighting 33-run sixth wicket partnership between Deandra Dottin and Afy Fletcher made things interesting including 23-run 16th over that left the West Indies needing just 34 from the final 24 deliveries.
Dottin’s wicket off the third ball of the next over for a 22-ball 33 pretty much ended all hope for a West Indies victory.
After Chedean Nation came and went for a duck, Fletcher was joined by Zaida James and the pair tried their best to combat some smart bowling from the New Zealanders.
Eventually, the West Indies got to the last over needing 15 to win.
A boundary from James off the first ball produced some nerves for New Zealand but that was followed by a dot ball and then a wicket, putting an end to the West Indian charge.
Fletcher finished 17* while James made 14 from eight balls.
Eden Carson finished with 3-29 from her four overs while Captain Amelia Kerr took 2-14 from four overs.
New Zealand will now take on South Africa in Sunday’s final with both teams looking for their first ICC Women’s T20 World Cup title.
Full Scores:
New Zealand Women 128-9 off 20 overs (Georgia Plimmer 33, Suzie Bates 26, Isabella Gaze 20*, Deandra Dottin 4-22, Afy Fletcher 2-23)
West Indies Women 120-8 off 20 overs (Deandra Dottin 33, Afy Fletcher 17*, Eden Carson 3-29, Amelia Kerr 2-14)
Despite a heroic effort with bat and ball from Captain Hayley Matthews, the West Indies Women lost the third and final One Day International against New Zealand and with it the series 2-1 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Sunday.
West Indies Women and New Zealand head into Sunday’s T20 International locked on 1-1 after the visitors pulled off a thriller to win the second T20 International by six wickets, with one ball remaining, at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Saturday.
Batting first, the West Indies had a difficult time scoring going as New Zealand bowlers were much more consistent in their line and length.
Skipper Hayley Matthews struck one boundary on her way to eight off 13 balls before she had a big nick behind to keeper Izzy Gaze of Hayley Jensen. Also, Aaliyah Alleyne, who punished the White Ferns bowlers in the first match, struggled to get going.
Eden Carson who replaced Lea Tahuhu in the White Ferns team, had Alleyne caught for 13 which came off 19 balls.
Kyshona Knight and Chinelle Henry struck up a 31-run partnership when the home side needed it the most. Knight fell eight runs short of a half-century, making 42, which included five fours.
Henry, meanwhile, made 24 off 22 balls with two fours and a six and included 18 runs from the last over which helped West Indies Women to 107-5.
Jensen was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand, finishing with figures of 4-0-24-3, followed by Eden Carson with 4-0-12-2.
In reply, Suzie Bates smacked six fours on her way to 54 off 61 balls and was well supported by Amelia Kerr with 21 from 25 balls. The visitors looked set for victory before two wickets from Cherry-Ann Fraser in the 18th over, swung the match back in favour of the West Indies.
However, the 19th over went for 10 runs which meant New Zealand needed seven runs in the last over, which they achieved with one ball to spare.
Fraser had the best bowling figures, finishing with 2.5-0-13-1. Off-spinner Karishma Ramharack 4-0-23-1.
“I got a promotion to bat at (number) three, so my role was to bat as deep as possible,” Knight explained afterwards.
“My plan was to back myself and to rotate the strike for the hitters and help get the team to a decent total. It was extremely hot there today, probably one of the hottest we’ve experienced so far, and the ball was holding on the pitch more than usual, so that made batting a bit tricky. We’re looking forward to regrouping and coming back for the third match.”
The two teams will return to the same venue on Sunday for the third T20I in the five-match series. The first ball is at 1:30 pm Eastern Caribbean/12:30 pm Jamaica time.
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