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Sherfane Rutherford’s explosive half-century, coupled with brilliant bowling performances from Gudakesh Motie and Alzarri Joseph, led the West Indies to a 13-run win over New Zealand at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday evening.
The win ensured the Caribbean team a spot in the Super 8 of the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup.
New Zealand won the toss and elected to field, managing to restrict West Indies to 149-9 in the 20th over, with the hosts finding themselves in dire straits at 76-7. The driving force behind West Indies’ comeback was Rutherford, who scored an unbeaten 68 off 39 balls, which included 6 sixes and 2 fours. His composed and aggressive play lifted the team’s total from a precarious position to a defendable one.
Dire Straits
New Zealand’s quick attack, led by Trent Boulter (3-16), Tim Southee (2-21) and Lockie Ferguson (2-27), initially held back West Indies’ top scorers. The Caribbean side were in trouble until Rutherford’s fierce attack in the final few overs gave them a chance to fight back.
New Zealand only managed to get back on 136-9. Glenn Phillips, who was familiar with Caribbean conditions in the Caribbean Premier League, top-scored with 40. Motie bowled well, taking 3-25 after four innings, while Joseph’s fast pace saw him take 4-19, completely dismantling the New Zealand batting line-up.
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New Zealand’s chase started well as Finn Allen (26) hit three fours and a six to help New Zealand lead 32-1 after a power-play. However, timely strikes from Hussain and Joseph forced Allen and Devon Conway (5) to retire.
Low resistance
Moti played a crucial role in coming on after the powerplay as he quickly replaced captain Kane Williamson (1), Rachin Ravindra (10) and Daryl Mitchell (12). After Phillips was dismissed by Joseph, New Zealand’s lower order offered little resistance, though Mitchell Santner (21*) hit a couple of sixes late in the innings.
Early on, the West Indies’ situation quickly collapsed as key players such as Johnson Charles (0), Nicholas Pooran (17), Roston Chase (0) and captain Rovman Powell (1) were easily defeated by the New Zealand quick attack. Boult, Southee and Ferguson cleverly took advantage of the situation and caught the West Indies team off guard.
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The contributions of Aqeel Hussain (15) and Romario Shepherd (13) in the middle overs provided some stability, but it was Rutherford’s explosive batting in the last three overs that significantly increased the total. He dominated the New Zealand bowlers, especially in the 19th and 20th overs, scoring 19 and 18 runs respectively.
West Indies will now turn their attention to the next crucial match against Afghanistan, which could be their toughest challenge yet.
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