WT20I WC : Nervous New Zealand outplayed sloppy Pakistan to move into Semis

 

After Sunday's loss to Australia, India's hopes of staying in the T20 World Cup depended on Pakistan. Though Indian players might not have openly admitted it, they were likely silently rooting for their neighboring  country on Monday. However, that support didn’t pay off as Pakistan lost to New Zealand. With this result, New Zealand secured a spot in the semifinals, while India, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, was knocked out of the tournament. Pakistan, chasing New Zealand’s target of 110/6, could only muster 56 runs.

Pakistan’s disciplined bowling initially helped restrict New Zealand to a low score, but their poor fielding undid much of that effort. The Pakistani fielders dropped five easy catches throughout the game, which could have further limited New Zealand’s score. Despite the low target, Pakistan’s aggressive batting approach did not yield positive results.

Winning the toss and opting to bat first, New Zealand opener Suzie Bates got them off to a good start by hitting a boundary on the second ball.

In the first five overs, New Zealand managed to score 34 runs without losing any wickets. Pakistan’s Nashra Sandhu dropped a catch from Bates (28) , but she later dismissed opener Plimmer (17)  in the next over. In the eighth over, Omaima Sohail dropped Amelia Kerr’s catch. Bates continued to add runs, but Sandhu eventually dismissed her for 9 . 

Despite New Zealand’s scoring rate slowing down due to a sluggish pitch, they managed to reach 110 runs helped by Halliday (22) & a struggling  Devine (19) , losing six wickets by the end of their innings. Pakistan’s bowlers maintained tight control despite the poor fielding, limiting New Zealand's aggressive play. Nashra Sandhu took 3 wickets and was impressive . Nida Dar took 1 wicket and was very unlucky with many catches dropped off her bowling .

Before the match, Pakistan captain Fatima Sana had mentioned that they were mindful of the required run rate. By the end of New Zealand's innings, it became clear that Pakistan needed to chase the target within 10.4 overs to surpass both India and New Zealand and qualify for the semifinals. If Pakistan failed to achieve that, India would advance, but if Pakistan lost, New Zealand would go through.

Fatima’s words turned true as Pakistan began their innings with aggressive intent. They scored seven runs in the first over, but lost Aliya Riaz in the second and an aggressive Muneeba Ali (15)  in the third. By the fourth over, Pakistan was already struggling, with Iram Javed unable to score any runs off Eden Carson’s six balls. By the fifth over, Pakistan had slumped to 23/4.

After losing Sidra Ameen in the sixth over, Pakistan abandoned their aggressive approach. In the next three overs, they added only 20 runs without losing any further wickets. It became clear that Pakistan would not chase the target within the required 10.4 overs. In fact, they lost two more wickets before that mark, as Nida Dar (9) and Omaima (2) were dismissed. In the 12th over, Amelia Kerr took three wickets, sealing Pakistan’s defeat and ending India's semifinal hopes. Fatima Sana scored 21 runs but her efforts was in vain . Kerr took 3 wickets while Carlson took 2/7 in 3 overs to get the player of the match award.  New Zealand  won by 54 runs .

In an ealier game in the other group , England took  firm steps towards finishing at the top with a convincing 10 wicket win over Scotland  . The Scots managed 109/6 with Katryn Bryce (33) and Sarah Bryce (27) providing the major chunk of the runs . In reply Maia Bouchier (62*) & Dani Wyatt Hodge (51*) raced away in style to post a 10 wicket win .