West Indies, led by Hayley Matthews, will face New Zealand in the second semifinal of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 in Sharjah on October 18, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP
Eight years ago, West Indies beat New Zealand by just six runs in the second semifinal of the 2016 T20 World Cup. They went on to beat Australia in the summit clash for its maiden world T20 title. Come Friday, the Windies will hope the pattern repeats itself when they take on the Kiwis in the second semifinal of the ongoing edition of the tournament in Sharjah.
After a 10-wicket thrashing at the hands of South Africa, the Windies resurrected their campaign with wins in their other group fixtures against Bangladesh, Scotland and England.
New Zealand’s campaign — three wins in four games with the sole loss coming against Australia — might look comfortable when it was anything but. Comfortable margins hide multiple tales of stuttering from the White Ferns.
This is why West Indies enters this clash with an advantage over New Zealand despite being on the unfavourable end of a lopsided head-to-head record. In 24 meetings, the White Ferns have only lost five and won 15.
On the spin-friendly tracks here, expect Amelie Kerr – who tops the bowling charts alongside SA’s Nonkululeko Mlaba – to thrive. The Kiwis could bring back the right-arm off spin of Leigh Kasperek.
In the 20 wickets claimed in the group stage by the Windies, 17 have fallen to spin and so the Women in Maroon will bank heavily on their tweakers — Hayley Matthews, Afy Fletcher, Karishma Ramharack and Zaida James.
Published – October 18, 2024 03:53 am IST