ICC Women's T20 WC: Pakistan, India knocked out as New Zealand win to reach semis

New Zealand qualified for the knockout stages of the tournament at the expense of both India and Pakistan, following a 54-run win for the White Ferns in Dubai on Monday against Pakistan. Matchday opponents Pakistan knew they could qualify if they chased down a target of 111 in quick time, while India would have qualified instead of both teams had Pakistan still gone on to win in a slower fashion.

But a combination of superb bowling from New Zealand and a gung-ho approach from Pakistan saw the match race to a conclusion in just 11.4 overs of the second innings, as Pakistan crashed to 56 all out. Earlier, Suzie Bates top-scored with 28 and plenty of New Zealand batters got starts, but Pakistan's spinners kept the total under control, with Nashra Sandhu the pick of the bowlers with 3/18, as per ICC.

Catches were shelled throughout the innings under the lights in Dubai, and the eventual size of the target, coupled with the NRR equation, proved too much for Pakistan in the end. With a tantalising target of needing to reach their 111 runs in 10.4 overs to progress on NRR, Pakistan came out swinging at the start of the second innings, with Muneeba Ali (15 from 11) setting the tone.

But Muneeba, Aliya Riaz (0), Sadaf Shamas (2) and Iram Javed (3) all departed early as the required rate began to soar. And wickets continued to tumble as attacking intent undid Pakistan. Fatima Sana was the only batter other than Muneeba to reach double figures, hitting a solid 21 (23). But she had little support and the game rushed to a conclusion as Pakistan were bowled out for just 56.

Melie Kerr finished with the pick of the figures, coming into the attack after much of the early damage had already been done to bag 3/14, including the key wickets of Sana and Nida Dar, before wrapping up the win by dismissing Sadia Iqbal.

But it was the excellent Eden Carson who took away Pakistan's momentum, with figures of 2/7 from three overs helping build the scoring rate pressure to unmanageable levels. It was New Zealand captain Sophie Devine won the toss and decided to bat first against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. And the White Ferns got off to a strong start, reaching 39/0 at the end of the powerplay with Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer looking in good touch.

But Pakistan hit back through the middle overs, as Nashra Sandhu bagged both openers. Plimmer was first to go for 17 (from 14 balls), with Bates falling two overs later for 28 (29). And the dangerous Melie Kerr struggled to get going, scrapping to 9 (17) before being caught by returning Pakistan captain Fatima Sana, her second grab of the innings.

Sophie Devine and Brooke Halliday rebuilt, steering New Zealand towards a decent total, but the excellence of Pakistan's spinners meant that an insurmountable first-innings score was well out of reach heading into the death overs. A smart stumping from Muneeba Ali ended Halliday's time in the middle (22 from 24), and the skipper took two more catches to send back Devine (19 from 25) and Maddy Green (9 from 7). But eight catches went down in all in the innings, including three in the final over, as Pakistan missed the opportunity to restrict New Zealand even further.

Brief Scores: New Zealand: 110/6 (Suzie Bates 28, Brooke Halliday 22, Nashra Sandhu 3/18) beat Pakistan: 56 in 11.4 overs (Fatima Sana 21, Muneeba Ali 15, Amelia Kerr 3/14). (ANI)