The Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 witnessed a double-header at the Newlands in Cape Town on Friday (February 17). While New Zealand faced Bangladesh in the first match, West Indies locked horns with Ireland in the second game.
In the first encounter, New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat first. The White Ferns’ top order put up a solid show as Suzie Bates played a brilliant knock of 81 runs off just 61 deliveries, including seven fours and a six. Bernadine Bezuidenhout and Maddy Green also made valuable contributions of 44 runs each. Meanwhile, Fahima Khatun picked up two wickets for Bangladesh, supported by Shorna Akter‘s one scalp. However, they failed to prevent New Zealand from posting a mammoth total of 189/3 in their allotted 20 overs.
Chasing 190 for victory, Bangladesh got off to a slow start as they lost a few early wickets. Despite Murshida Khatun‘s fighting 30 off 38 balls and Akter’s quickfire 31 off 22 balls, Bangladesh failed in the run chase. On the other hand, New Zealand bowlers, led by Eden Carson and Hannah Rowe, kept a tight grip on the proceedings and restricted Bangladesh to just 118/8 in their 20 overs. Carson and Rowe picked three and two wickets, respectively.
New Zealand eventually emerged victorious by a comprehensive margin of 71 runs, and Bates was awarded the ‘Player of the Match’ for her brilliant innings with the bat.
New Zealand thump Bangladesh to keep hopes alive.#NZvBAN Scorecard: https://t.co/UzaiXAcL6p #CricketTwitter #WomenCricket pic.twitter.com/nV9tkkWwHC
— WomenCricket.com (@WomenCricketHQ) February 18, 2023
Talking about the day’s second contest between Ireland and West Indies, the Irish team won the toss and decided to bat first.
Ireland started the innings steadily but soon lost the momentum. However, Orla Prendergast and Gaby Lewis put up a resilient show and powered their team to a decent total of 137/9 in 20 overs. Prendergast played an outstanding knock of 61 runs off 47 balls, including six fours and a six. Lewis also contributed with a handy 38 off 34 balls.
The West Indies bowlers kept things tight and chipped away with wickets at regular intervals. Shamilia Connell led the attack with her impressive figures of 3/24, while Karishma Ramharack and Afy Fletcher bagged two wickets each.
In response, West Indies got off to a flyer, with captain Hayley Matthews taking on the Irish bowlers. She played a magnificent innings of 66 off 53 balls. Matthews received good support from Chinelle Henry, who scored a quickfire 34 off 28 balls.
The Irish bowlers tried their best to defend the total, but the West Indies batters were too strong on the day. Laura Delany and Leah Paul took one wicket each, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Women in Maroon from winning the match by six wickets with a ball to spare.
Hayley was named Player of the match for her outstanding performance with the bat.
West Indies reached the target off the penultimate ball to register their first win of the tournament. #T20WorldCup #WIvIRE Scorecard: https://t.co/irOBolC2gn #CricketTwitter #WomenCricket pic.twitter.com/N7rOtxkF2N
— WomenCricket.com (@WomenCricketHQ) February 18, 2023
