White ferns pull out a whisker in the last over thriller to seal the series 3-0

New Zealand pulled it off in the last ball, all thanks to the stupendous effort of Anna Peterson. West Indies dominated the game until the 19th over, but they could not hold their nerve in the last over.

It was a dramatic last over, that saw some tight bowling and alert fielding diverting the match towards the White Ferns. With this win, New Zealand sealed the series 3-0 and this was 6th win in a row for the hosts. Three wickets fell in the last over, as the over-ambitious Windies batters were not able to finish the match in style as they yet again lost the match by 1 run.

Earlier in the match, West Indies won the match and elected to field first. This decision went in favour of the Caribbean’s way as the White Ferns were restricted for a modest total of 134 runs. At the beginning of the 1st innings, the ever-consistent and the dangerous batter Sophie Devine scored a quick-fire 41 runs just off 28 balls with three sixes and three boundaries. Suzie Bates played a Captain’s knock of 52 runs bringing up her 16th half-century, but the rest of the line-up could not build a reliable partnership.The team lost wickets in quick-succession as New Zealand posted a low total for the West Indies team to chase. Hayley Matthews picked the top wickets of star batters Devine, Martin, and Satterthwaite which were crucial for providing the tourists a solid start in the first innings.

With Windies put to chase an easy target, captain Stafanie Taylor promoted herself up the order but had to return to the pavilion due to the accurate off-break bowling by Kasperek. Then after the fall of a couple of wickets, wicket-keeper batswomen Merissa Aguilleira and Kycia Knight put up a partnership of 57 runs to bring up the team’s total of 130 runs. The last over by Patterson shifted the match in New Zealand’s favour as 3 wickets fell in a span of 4 balls as the West Indies were short of 1 run. White Ferns wrapped the series 3-0 making this 4th series win in a row and 2nd T20I series in a row. Windies still have to work on their batting proficiency to help them handle the death overs and strike-rotation while chasing.

Hayley Matthews was adjudged the player of the match for her striking bowling figures of 3/24.

Flash Scores:

New Zealand 134/7 (S Bates 52, H Matthews 3/24) beat West Indies 133/7 (M Aguilleira 38, L Kasperek 3/31) by 1 run.