TAROUBA, Trinidad, CMC – New Zealand, in a display of their cricket prowess, convincingly defeated Papua New Guinea by seven wickets, marking their exit from the Twenty20 World Cup here Monday.
Having made it to the 2021 edition’s final and the semi-finals a year later, New Zealand, despite a slow start, managed to secure their second win. They finished third in Group C behind hosts West Indies and Afghanistan. They achieved this by swiftly chasing down PNG’s 78 with nearly eight overs remaining.
“It’s just finished for us. It took a long time to start, and then in a matter of days, we were not in contention, which was frustrating,” New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said afterward.
“We wanted to start the campaign strong but couldn’t do that. We played against a couple of solid sides who are very well equipped in these conditions, and unfortunately, it was the difference in our first two games.”
Choosing to bowl first at the Brian Lara Stadium, New Zealand’s strategy paid off with a devastating spell from fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, who took three wickets for no runs in his four overs. Seamers Tim Southee (2-11), Trent Boult (2-14), and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi (2-29) also made significant contributions, each taking two wickets.
Only three PNG batsmen reached double figures, but none passed 17 as the innings folded in the final over.
In reply, the Black Caps lost Finn Allen to the second delivery of the chase without a run on the board, wafting at one from left-arm pacer Kabua Morea (2-4) and nicking behind.
And when Morea got Rachin Ravindra to hole out to deep mid-wicket for two at 20 for two at the start of the fifth over, New Zealand were in a spot of bother.
However, Conway struck two fours and three sixes in a top score of 35 from 32 deliveries to lead the recovery.
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