New DelhiWhen the New Zealand team plays a confident West Indies in the Women’s T20 World Cup semi-finals on Friday 18 October, it will aim to maintain its excellent form. New Zealand made it to the last four from Group A by defeating teams like India and Sri Lanka in this tournament. The team, which had lost ten matches before the tournament, performed brilliantly.
Sophie Devine has made full use of her experience. Apart from this, Georgia Plimmer and experienced Suzie Bates are in excellent form while Amelia Kerr has scored useful runs in the lower order. Kerr has contributed 85 runs along with taking 10 wickets. Rosemary Mayer has also taken seven wickets on the slow pitches of UAE. Aiden Carson performed impressively against India and a similar performance will be expected from this spinner against West Indies.
West Indies had defeated England in the last match. The Caribbean team, which was on top in Group B, lost only one match. West Indies have entered the semi-finals for the first time since the tournament they hosted in 2018. It defeated England in the last group match against which it had lost the last 13 matches. Hayley Matthews put England out of the match by making a 102-run partnership with young Kianna Joseph.
Mathews was the only Caribbean batsman to cross a hundred runs in the tournament. There will also be a lot of responsibility on Sarah Taylor and Deandra Dottin. Spinner Effie Fletcher took eight wickets and Karishma Ramharak took five wickets. New Zealand has won 15 out of 23 matches played so far against West Indies, while two matches were tied and one remained inconclusive. The winner of this match will face the winner of the second semi-final between six-time defending champions Australia and South Africa in the final to be held in Dubai on Sunday.
FIRST PUBLISHED: October 17, 2024, 15:44 IST