T20 WC: WI ride on Sherfane Rutherford and Alzarri Joseph's heroics to beat NZ, qualify for Super 8

West Indies beat New Zealand by 13 runs, on Wednesday (June 12) local time, to become the fourth team to enter the Super 8 stage in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Riding onSherfane Rutherford and Alzarri Joseph's heroics, the Rovman Powell-led side pulled off an incredible win after reeling at 58 for 6 at one stage, after being asked to bat first in theBrian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad. Rutherford's 39-ball 68*, with a calculative assault in the last two overs, and Joseph's 4 for 19 along with a tight fielding effort, helped the co-hostsdent NZ's run with a 13-run win. The Black Caps, with two back-to-back losses, have their Super 8 chances hangingbythe slimmest of threads.

Talking about the contest, Kane Williamson & Co. opted to bowl first and were on top with half the Windies' side back in the pavilion with only 30 runs on board. Rutherford held one end and stitched valuable knocks with the lower-order batters, with Akeal Hosein, Andre Russell andRomario Shepherd chipping in, before taking on Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner in the last two overs. 37 runs came off the last 12 deliveries to change the momentum in WI's favour asthey eventually made 149 for 9 in 20 overs.

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In reply, NZ kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Only Glenn Phillips (33-ball 40) and Santner (who ended with an unbeaten 12-ball 21) fought hard for the Kiwis, but it wasn't enough. For WI,Joseph (4 for19)and spinners Hosein (1 for 30) andGudakesh Motie (3 for 25) starred with the ball, and were also helped bysome fine fielding. as the Black Caps only managed 136/7.

While WI are through to the next round, NZ now have a herculean task on their hands with two successive defeats. They lost to Afghanistan by 84 runs in their tournament opener.