India’s hopes briefly arose. New Zealand could perhaps feel a sense of déjà vu. Pakistan themselves threatened to do the unthinkable. Only for all of it to come crashing at the end of it all.

New Zealand crushed Pakistan in their final group game to qualify for the semi-final of the Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time since 2016. Batting first, they could only finish on 110 for 6. India needed Pakistan to beat New Zealand for them to make the semi-final. Pakistan themselves needed to hunt down the score anywhere inside 11.3 overs to qualify for the last four at the expense of India and New Zealand. In a bid to do so, they were bowled out for 56, their lowest all-out total in T20 World Cups.

Nashra Sandhu  led Pakistan’s charge with the ball, picking up three wickets to pull the plug on New Zealand’s scoring. But Amelia Kerr returned with three of her own, following Eden Carson’s strikes up top as New Zealand completed a remarkable comeback having come into the competition on the back of a record ten-match losing streak.

When Suzie Bates drove the second ball of the game down the ground to beat mid-off, it looked as if New Zealand’s decision to bat first was vindicated. An over later, both Georgia Plimmer and Bates managed to hit a four apiece off Fatima Sana before Plimmer bisected the gap at extra cover in the fourth over. By the end of five overs, New Zealand had hit five fours and looked good for more, despite a slightly higher number of dot balls faced.

Only when Omaima Sohail was brought on for the final over of the powerplay, did there come a sign of what was to follow.

Nida Dar’s first over, the fifth of the game, gave an indication of her fortunes for the day. Bates attempted a reverse lap on the second ball against Dar, only to deflect it to the wicketkeeper. But Muneeba Ali failed to hang on. That was the first of five dropped chances Pakistan missed off Dar’s bowling alone. In the sixth, Bates pulled Sohail straight to midwicket but Sandhu could not hold on. A ball before, Plimmer had survived a run-out chance.

Plimmer and Bates could not make those chances count. With New Zealand’s score on 41, the former skewed a top edge off Sandhu towards cover, where Sana fumbled before hanging on. In Sandhu’s next over, Bates hit one down long-on’s throat. Sohail had grassed a tough caught and bowled chance when Amelia Kerr was on nought but manage to have her caught at the deep midwicket ropes cheaply.

Boundaries were hard to come by. Sophie Devine tried using her feet to counter spin but to no avail. She was also given a life when she was on 13. Pakistan dropped five catches in the last three overs. Despite that, New Zealand could hit only seven fours – the last two coming off Brooke Halliday’s bat – and were restricted to a total that seemed very gettable at the halfway mark. Sandhu finished with 3 for 18 while Dar, Iqbal and Sohail also picked up a wicket apiece.

Pakistan knew they had to hunt down the 101-run target inside 12 overs for a semi-final place. Their intentions were clear when they sent Aliya Riaz up to open the batting alongside Muneeba. It was only the second time that Riaz had walked out to open in a T20I, the first time since 2014. Her stay lasted only three balls as she miscued offspinner Carson to cover. Muneeba began solidly, first skipping down to loft Carson straight back and then pulling Lea Tahuhu through deep backward square leg – aided by a misfield. But Tahuhu got one to seam in, past the inside edge, to make a mess of Muneeba’s stumps.

That was the start of a massive collapse from Pakistan. They lost five wickets inside the powerplay to be 28 for 5. A massively reworked batting order – that saw Dar bat at No. 7 – did not bear the desired result. Dar and Sana’s 24-run partnership for the sixth wicket was Pakistan’s best. But once their most experienced allrounder fell in the tenth over, Pakistan folded as quickly as New Zealand started. They lost their last five wickets for just four runs in 11.4 overs, the exact over mark by when they had to complete the chase to qualify.

Brief scores:
New Zealand Women 110 for 6 in 20 overs (Suzie Bates 28, Brooke Halliday 22; Sadia Iqbal 1-23, Nida Dar 1-26, Omaima Sohail 1-14, Nashra Sandhu 3-18) beat Pakistan Women 56 in 11.4 overs (Fatima Sana 21;Rosemary Mair 1-18,  Amelia Kerr 3-14, Eden Carson 2-07, Lea Tahuhu 1-08, Fran Jonas 1-08) by 54 runs

[Cricinfo]