WELLINGTON: Anna Peterson bowled a nerveless final over, giving away just three runs and picking two wickets, as New Zealand Women clinched a cliffhanger against Windies by just one run to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match T20I series, on Tuesday (March 20). The Windies ended up with 133 for 7 while chasing down 135 to lose the nail-biter in New Plymouth.
Merissa Aguilleira (38 not out), the former Windies skipper, and Kycia Knight (26), had taken the Windies to the doorstep of victory with a 57-run stand for the fifth wicket. With just five runs needed off the last over, the Windes would have backed themselves to overhaul the target. Unfortunately for the visitors, Knight was dislodged off the first ball, caught by Devine off Peterson. Britney Cooper, who replaced Knight at the crease, was stumped off the fourth ball. Peterson was again in the thick of things when she ran out Akeira Peters with a direct hit. The tourists required three off the last ball, but Aguilleira could only steal a leg-bye as they slipped to a heartbreaking loss. If we turn the pages and look back at the start of the innings, the match seemed to be in the balance after the Windies were reduced to 73 for 4 in the 12th over. Only Deandra Dottin, batting at four, was able to make a decent contribution of 24. At that juncture, Aguilleira and Knight joined forces to raise hopes of a victory.
The duo cracked three and two fours respectively, and were able to keep up with the required run-rate. But, the pair faltered at the final hurdle. Peterson bagged two scalps while Leigh Kasperek took three wickets.
Brief scores: New Zealand Women 134/7 in 20 overs (Suzie Bates 52, Sophie Devine 41; Hayley Matthews 3-24) beat Windies Women 133/7 in 20 overs (Merissa Aguilleira 38, Kycia Knight 26; Leigh Kasperek 3-31, Anna Peterson 2-25) by 1 run.
