TAROUBA: Sherfane Rutherford played a blistering innings, followed by Alzarri Joseph’s four-wicket haul to help West Indies secure a narrow victory over New Zealand in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 on Thursday.
Chasing a 150-run target, New Zealand were restricted to 136/9 in their allocated 20 overs.
The Kiwi side failed to get the desired start as they lost two wickets for 34 on the board in 5.4 overs. Finn Allen scored a 23-ball 26.
Gudakesh Motie then came to bowl and spun the web around the New Zealand batting line-up, taking three wickets in three consecutive overs to reduce the Kiwi team to 63-5.
Glenn Phillips and James Neesham (10) then stitched a 22-run partnership to pull the team out of the trouble but Joseph broke their momentum.
Phillips top-scored for New Zealand with a 40-run knock from 33 balls with the help of three boundaries and two sixes.
New Zealand kept losing wickets and ultimately required 33 runs in the last over with one wicket in hand. However, Mitchell Santner managed to hit only 19 runs with three sixes.
For West Indies, Joseph returned with figures of 4-19, while Motie claimed three wickets.
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New Zealand invited the West Indies to bat and reduced them to 22-4 inside the power play, with Tim Southee taking two wickets.
Nicholas Pooran was the only notable contributor from West Indies’ top order as he scored 17 off 12.
Rutherford came down to bat at number six and was soon joined by Akeal Hosein with the scoreboard reading 30-5 in 6.3 overs.
Together they helped the West Indies recover with an anchoring partnership of 28 off 27 before Mitchell Santner struck to remove Hosein (15).
Rutherford then added 27 runs for the eighth wicket stand with Romario Shepherd (13) but New Zealand bowlers halted West Indies’ progress with two quick wickets.
The last man Gudakesh Motie came out to bat and witnessed Rutherford turn the game on its head with belligerent hitting from the other end.
Motie faced only one ball, while Rutherford played the next two overs by himself and scored 37 runs to push West Indies’ total to 149-9 in their allotted 20 overs.
Rutherford scored an unbeaten 68 off 39 which featured two boundaries and six sixes.
For New Zealand, Trent Boult topped the bowling charts with figures of 3-16, whereas Southee and Lockie Ferguson managed two wickets each.
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