by In a World Cup full of surprises, with neither England nor India making it out of the group stage and Australia crashing out in the semi-finals, New Zealand’s progression to the final is arguably the biggest surprise of all.
They were in what was considered a tougher group with India and Australia and had lost their previous 10 T20s leading up to the tournament.
But eight of those against England and defending champions Australia appear to have worked in their favor as they were put under a lot of pressure and tested significantly. This means they can handle the critical moments when they come.
The general feeling was that 128-9 against the West Indies was below par as their batters tried to accelerate, but both the pitch and the precise bowling did not allow for a free-flowing style of play.
With the advantage of knowing the state of the ground when it came to defence, her spinners spun tirelessly as Kerr continued her impressive tournament, taking her tally to 12, topping the previous wicket charts.
Carson got the ball off to the perfect start by bowling the one-dimensional Joseph, who shot over the line. Shemaine Campbell then threw a chip to Bates in cover for three before Taylor, dealing with a sore knee, missed a swing.
When Matthews fell to Lea Tahuhu in the 11th over to leave West Indies 51-4, her hopes rested solely on Dottin’s shoulders and she seemed fully prepared to take on the responsibility, scoring 23 off Tahuhu in the 16th over hit.
But Kerr and Bates, who along with Devine so often play for the New Zealanders, handled the pressure skillfully and took the win, despite Zaida James’ wonderful shot of the first ball of the final over for four, sending several shockwaves through the White Ferns camp had .
Many of the players couldn’t hold back their tears of joy at the final ball as they move one step closer to history despite all the odds.
