Table of contents
The elimination of New Zealand from the ongoing Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 came as a surprise to many. This T20 World Cup was a setback for the Kiwis, who didn’t play like the New Zealand we all know. After losing the first match of the tournament, New Zealand was on the brink of elimination. As a result, their fate rested on the performance of other teams.
Like their usual performance in ICC events, everyone had expected them to make it into the next round. They had a strong side for the tournament. What went wrong for New Zealand is the question everyone is asking.
Poor Batting Performance Costs New Zealand
New Zealand started their T20 World Cup campaign against Afghanistan. The bowlers did a fabulous job by restricting Afghanistan to 159. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the top performer with 80 runs. Besides Gurbaz, only two other players made a two-digit score. Trent Boult was the top performer for the Kiwis, with figures of 2 for 22 in 4 overs.
While chasing 160, the Kiwis were all out for just 75 in 15.2 overs. While batting, the Kiwis performed like an inexperienced team. Only two players scored two-digit runs. New Zealand struggled from the first ball of the inning, making Finn Allen depart without scoring.
New Zealand was under pressure for the second match, as they were on the brink of being eliminated. It was a must-win match for the Kiwis. They needed to win against the West Indies today to stay alive in the tournament. The bowlers delivered again for the Kiwis by restricting the West Indies to 149 for 9. The four main bowlers gave up less than 28 runs in their spell of 4 overs. Trent Boult was the top performer, giving 16 runs by taking 3 wickets with one maiden over in his spell of 4 overs.
The second match saw another batting collapse from the New Zealand team. While chasing 150, New Zealand players scored runs, but they took too many bowls. Finn Allen scored 26 in 23 balls, Devon Conway 5 in 8, Daryl Mitchell 12 in 13, Rachin Ravindra 10 in 13, captain Williamson 1 in 2, and Glenn Pheleps 40 in 33. None of the batsmen were able to have a big impact on the run chase of 150.
Afghanistan Qualifies for the Next Round
New Zealand’s fate rested in today’s match between Afghanistan and Papua New Guinea. New Zealand needed Papua New Guinea to win against an experienced Afghanistan to stay alive in the tournament. Afghanistan comfortably won by seven wickets. With this win, they advanced to the next round of the tournament. In the next round of the tournament, there are now six teams: Australia, India, the West Indies, South Africa, and Afghanistan.
A Rare Miss For New Zealand
Since 2016, the Kiwis have qualified for the playoffs of all the editions of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. In 2016, they were the semi-finalists, they lost the final in 2021, semi-finalists again in 2022, and an early exit in the 2024 T20 World Cup. This is unusual for them, as they have qualified for playoffs in all the ICC tournaments over the last 10-13 years.
Tomorrow, the Kiwis will play against Uganda in their third match of the tournament. New Zealand have already lost two matches in a row, and they’re low on confidence. It needs to be seen how they will perform against an inexperienced Uganda.