Published: Mar 21, 2016, 04:58 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 21, 2016, 05:55 PM (IST)
Australia fell victim to the infamous Nagpur pitch as New Zealand, led by Leigh Kasperek, put in an excellent display of spin bowling to restrict Australia to a mere total of 103 in 20 overs in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2016. Australia won the toss and elected to bat first, but were soon reeling at a precarious 4 for 4 at one stage. They were saved by an invaluable 42 from all-rounder Ellyse Perry and late cameos from Jess Jonassen (22) and Beth Mooney (15) in the end. New Zealand Women kept striking at regular intervals, but would feel they gave away a few too many runs in the last 5 overs. LIVE CRICKET BLOG: Australia vs New Zealand, Match 10 of Women’s T20 World Cup 2016
Leigh Kasperek put in a great display of off-spin bowling to pick up three early wickets in the powerplay overs. She took down Australia’s mighty top order by herself, in the process becoming the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 6 scalps. Erin Bermingham also picked up two wickets while Sophie Devine chipped in with a wicket as well. The White Ferns ensured the total never got out of the hand.
The Southern Stars needed a partnership after after losing five early wickets in less than 10 overs. They needed someone to knock the ball around for singles and doubles and then go for the big hits, and that was precisely what Ellyse did. After around 15 overs Australia Women started to break the shackles and starting picking up the odd boundary every over. The wickets fell toward the end, but runs kept coming as well. The total looks promising, and can be defended if the Australian spin bowlers do well.
Brief scores:
Australia 103 for 8 in 20 overs (Ellyse Perry 42; Leigh Kasperek 3 for 13) vs New Zealand.
(Arun Rawal, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a daydreamer, movie buff, and cricket fanatic. He could not play cricket, so did the next best thing, writing for it. He loves to play the flick shot over square leg, and belives Sachin Tendulkar is God. His twitter handle is @ArunRawal93.)
