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Kane Williamson’s New Zealand lost to West Indies by 13 runs in the recently concluded 2024 T20 World Cup match in Trinidad. With that, the Kiwis lost back-to-back games at the mega ICC event. Previously, Afghanistan had beaten them by 84 runs in their opening game of the tournament.
New Zealand's qualification in the 2024 T20 World Cup Super 8 stage is now in jeopardy. Afghanistan and the Windies are now favorites to progress from Group C.
Asked to bat first, West Indies posted 149/9 in 20 overs. Sherfane Rutherford starred with the bat, scoring 68 off 39 balls with the aid of six maximums and two boundaries. The left-handed batter came out when the co-hosts were reeling at 22/4 and took the team to a fighting total despite wickets falling at regular intervals at the other end.
Trent Boult emerged as the pick of Kiwi bowlers, returning with figures of 3/16, while Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson bagged two wickets each.
In response, the BlackCaps managed 136/9. Glenn Phillips top-scored with 40 off 33 deliveries with the help of two sixes and three boundaries. Finn Allen scored 26 off 23. The duo, though, failed to take the team over the line.
Captain Kane Williamson and Devon Conway departed for single digits, while Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, and James Neesham returned with 10 (13), 12 (13), and 10 (11), respectively.
Alzarri Joseph was the pick of West Indies bowlers, finishing with exceptional figures of 4/19, while Gudakesh Motie bagged three wickets.
Fans on X looked disappointed with New Zealand and captain Kane Williamson's downfall in the T20 World Cup.
One user wrote:
"Is this the end of 'golden generation' of New Zealand cricket?"
Another user wrote:
"It was poor captaincy, and his batting is on the decline in T20."
"This New Zealand downfall is making me feel so bad for this beautiful game," a user added.
Here are a few more reactions:
One user wrote:
"What a world cup this is turning out to be."
“The quality of Sherfane's innings was the difference” – Kane Williamson on New Zealand’s loss to West Indies in the 2024 T20 World Cup
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson pointed out that Sherfane Rutherford’s performance proved to be the difference in the T20 World Cup game against West Indies. Williamson added that the hosts made 10-15 more runs, which proved tricky in the run chase.
“The quality of Sherfane's innings was the difference, incredibly impressive and quite frustrating for us. The batting depth from their side was quite beneficial, we took the aggressive option to take the wicket and T20 is a game of small margins and unfortunately did not work out that way,” he said in the post-match show.
“Conditions here are what we are and we can't make excuses. keep getting better and keep finding a way, 10-15 runs that can make a big difference. We need to bounce back quickly. We need to be smarter. The learnings are important and we need to pick ourselves up and go again,” Williamson added.
New Zealand will play their remaining 2024 T20 World Cup group-stage games against Uganda and Papua New Guinea in Trinidad on June 14 and 17, respectively.
