Wednesday 26 / June / 2024
Tarouba : A record-breaking bowling spell by Lockie Ferguson and a clinical all-round show by New Zealand helped them bow out of the ICC T20 World Cup on a high with a win over Papua New Guinea by seven wickets at Tarouba on Monday.
In Group C, NZ ends in third place with two wins and two losses to the West Indies and Afghanistan, giving them four points. With a win in this game, the Kiwis have been able to salvage some pride and walk out of their worst World Cup showing across 50-over and 20-over formats in years with their heads up.
In the run-chase of 79 runs, the Kiwis were off to a poor start as opener Finn Allen was dismissed for a duck on the second ball of the inning by Kabua Morea. NZ was 0/1 and Allen's poor run in the tournament continued.
Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway, both left-handers, stitched a small partnership. There was barely any pace on the wicket for the batters to take advantage of and the timing as a result was not as great.
Morea also ended Rachin's sluggish knock at six runs in 11 balls, with Semo Kamea taking the catch. NZ was 20/2 in 4.1 overs.
At the end of six overs after the powerplay, New Zealand was 29/2, needing 50 runs to win.
Conway continued to punish any odd-ball for a four or six, while skipper Kane Williamson joined him at the other end. The ninth over was productive, producing 14 runs for the Kiwis with a four and six from Conway.
NZ reached the 50-run mark in nine overs.
Kamea ended the partnership between Williamson and Conway, trapping the latter leg-before-wicket for 35 in 32 balls, with two fours and three sixes. NZ was 54/3 in 9.2 overs.
Halfway through their innings, the Kiwis were 56/3, with Williamson (12*) and Daryl Mitchell (2*) unbeaten.
Mitchell and Williamson steered the team to a win, ending the innings at 79/3 in 12.2 overs, with Williamson (19*) and Mitchell (18*).
Coming to the match, the Kiwis opted to bowl first after winning the toss. With Charles Amini (17), Norman Vanua (14) and Sese Bau (12) crossing the double-figure mark, PNG managed to make 78/10 in 19.4 overs. A 27-run partnership between Amini and Bau for the third wicket was the biggest partnership for PNG.
Tim Southee (2/11), Trent Boult (2/14), Ish Sodhi (2/29) and Mitchell Santner (1/17) also delivered fine bowling spells for Kiwis. Lockie Ferguson took three wickets in his four overs but did not give away any runs, making it the most economical spell in T20I cricket.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Devon Conway(w), Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson(c), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Papua New Guinea (Playing XI): Tony Ura, Assad Vala(c), Charles Amini, Sese Bau, Hiri Hiri, Chad Soper, Kiplin Doriga(w), Norman Vanua, Alei Nao, Kabua Morea, Semo Kamea.
