"West Indies are back" - Fans go gaga after co-hosts beat NZ to book Super 8 berth in 2024 T20 World Cup
Co-hosts West Indies beat New Zealand to book their place in the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2024. The Caribbeans successfully defended 149 runs to register their third consecutive win at the tournament in Trinidad on Thursday, June 13.
Batting first, West Indies were staring down the barrel at one stage, with the team reeling at 30/5 in 6.3 overs. While many thought they would give up easily, the Windies showed fighting spirit till the end for which they are known.
Sherfane Rutherford smashed 68 off 39 balls with the aid of two boundaries and six maximums to bail the team out. Contributions from the lower-order batters meant the West Indies posted 149 after 20 overs.
In reply, New Zealand's top order faltered once again. They were 36/2 after the powerplay and needed a few batters to step up to gun down the target after a humiliating defeat against Afghanistan in their opening game. Barring Glenn Phillips (40), none of the other batters could make any telling contributions, as the Kiwis went down by 13 runs.
Alzarri Joseph starred with the ball for the West Indies, returning with figures of 4/19 from four overs.
Fans were happy to see West Indies back in the Super 8 after failing to qualify for the main event in the 2022 edition.
Here are some reactions:
"So good to see the West Indies winning on the back of their bowling attack. So important for the co-hosts come the Super 8s #T20WorldCup," another fan wrote.
"West Indies is a really looking hot favourite in these conditions, It will be tough to beat them," another fan chimed in.
"That was some performance by West Indies, they are really proving to be one of the best by coming out of tough situations playing as a team. NZ are now virtually knocked out even if Afghanistan loses against West Indies. #T20WorldCup," wrote another fan.
"Gave us confidence during the innings break" - West Indies skipper Sherfane Rutherford's knock
West Indies skipper Rovman Powell showered praise on Sherfane Rutherford, who single-handedly made all the difference in the match. Powell also admitted that the knock boosted the confidence level of the entire team.
"Im very happy, we find ourselves in some trouble and two guys went deep," Powell said at the end of the game. "We already discussed that somebody had to play a blinder, it was not an easy wicker for the inclement weather. Sherfane's innings was fantastic and gave us confidence during the innings break."
West Indies will next lock horns with Afghanistan in their final Group C game at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St Lucia on June 18.