"This is What Happens when you Prefer Money over National Duty" - Top 10 funny memes after New Zealand's dismal loss to West Indies in T20 World Cup
The West Indies beat New Zealand by 13 runs in the 26th match of the 2024 T20 World Cup at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, on Wednesday (June 12). With a third consecutive win, the West Indies have officially qualified for the Super 8s from Group C. New Zealand will be eliminated from the tournament if Afghanistan beat Papua New Guinea on Thursday (June 13).
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to bowl first in the contest. Sherfane Rutherford played a sensational knock of 68* (39) on a tricky surface and helped his side reach a respectable total of 149/9 after collapsing to 30/5. None of the other batters scored more than 20 runs for the hosts. Trent Boult (3/16), Tim Southee (2/21), and Lockie Ferguson (2/27) were among the wickets for the Kiwis.
Alzarri Joseph (4/19) and Gudakesh Motie (3/25) then bowled brilliant spells to restrict New Zealand to 136/9 in 20 overs and win the game for their side. Glenn Phillips top-scored for the Kiwis with a valiant knock of 40 (33) but failed to take his side over the line.
Fans enjoyed the low-scoring T20 World Cup match between the two teams. They expressed their emotions by sharing humorous memes on social media platforms like X and Instagram.
Here are some of the best memes:
"We need to bounce back quickly, with smarter and better performances" - New Zealand captain Kane Williamson
At the post-match presentation, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson reviewed his team's performance against the West Indies, saying:
"The first spell with the ball was good. We know that it was going to be tough to bat on and it worked out that way with how we bowled. But Sherfane Rutherford played a tremendous knock! Those two overs in end was the difference."
He continued:
"I knew that the best option would be to bowl our main bowlers on that wicket out, we did that, but that final couple of overs frustrated us. Conditions are what they are here, we need to keep looking to get better, keep finding a way of getting those extra 10-15 runs. We need to bounce back quickly, with smarter and better performances, it's important we pick ourselves up and go again."
The Kiwis will next face Uganda on Friday (June 14) at the same venue.