Hosts win last-ball thriller; Kiwis hammer Pakistan to march into final four

THE penultimate day of Super Six action at the ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup saw New Zealand produce another highly professional display to beat Pakistan and guarantee a qualification spot for both themselves and England in Group 2.

South Africa survived a nerve-jangling final over to beat Sri Lanka by one run to end their World Cup campaign on a high.

Even with victory, South Africa were unable to edge India or Australia on net run rate, with only Bangladesh now able to snatch one of the qualification places from Group 1.

A composed 43 from Kayla Reyneke gave South Africa the base to build a competitive score after they had opted to bat first, with Madison Landsman (21 from 12) and Jenna Evans (22 from 15) giving a bit of impetus to the innings.

The Lankans appeared to get marooned in the chase, with the scoring rate extremely slow as Miane Smit and Kayla Reyneke proved tough to get away, taking 1/13 and 2/16 from their respective four overs.

Nethmi Senarathna’s 36 had set a bit of a platform, and the acceleration came from Dewmi Vihanga Wijerathne (37 from 23) and Manudi Nanayakkara (17 from 9).

Sri Lanka required 12 off the final over to win the game, which went down to seven from the last three deliveries.

But a run out was followed by a stumping to leave new batter Rashmi Nethranjali requiring a six to win the game, and although she found the boundary, it fell short of clearing the rope, prompting jubilant celebrations from the tournament hosts.

Relentless New Zealand win by 103 runs
New Zealand continued their hugely impressive run through the tournament, seeing off Pakistan with relative ease in Potchefstroom to guarantee qualification for the final four.

The Kiwis have been brutal with the bat during this tournament, and were close to their explosive best again, scoring 178/7 off their 20 overs.

It looked for a while like the total could have been considerably bigger, with Emma McLeod (32) Anna Browning (31) and Georgia Plimmer (53) getting things off to a flier.

The pace of scoring slowed slightly, but with Plimmer anchoring one end, New Zealand were still able to lift themselves to a daunting target, with the top-scorer falling to the penultimate ball of the innings.

A wicket off the very first ball of the chase set the tone, with Anna Browning dismissing Shawaal Zulfiqar for a golden duck.

And the key batter Eyman Fatima also departed without scoring to leave Pakistan in trouble.

None of the top five reached doubled figures as New Zealand’s bowlers cranked up the pressure, with Pakistan managing to avoid the ignominy of being bowled out, but finishing seven wickets down and still 103 runs short of their target.

Pakistan’s defeat means England are also now guaranteed a top-two spot in Group 2. (ICC Media)