New Zealand qualified for the knockout stages of the tournament at the expense of both India and Pakistan, following a 54-run win for the New Zealand in Dubai on Monday against Pakistan. Matchday opponents Pakistan knew they could qualify if they chased down a target of 111 in quick time, while India would have qualified instead of both teams had Pakistan still gone on to win in a slower fashion.
But a combination of superb bowling from New Zealand and a gung-ho approach from Pakistan saw the match race to a conclusion in just 11.4 overs of the second innings, as Pakistan crashed to 56 all out. New Zealand roared into the semi-final of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 at the expense of subcontinental nations India and Pakistan. They beat Pakistan comprehensively by 54 runs in Dubai to seal their place in the last four, finishing the group stage with three wins from four games.
Pitch and Toss
Pitch Report : NZ posted 160 against India here on a decent deck. The outfield is a little sand-based. Looks a solid track.
Toss : New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine won the toss and chose to bat with one change in the playing XI as Leigh Kasperek goes out. Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana comes back in the squad replacing Tuba Hassan was left with the option of bowling first.
Nashra Sandhu’s 3-wicket restricts New Zealand to 110 for 6.
Earlier, it was New Zealand captain Sophie Devine who won the toss and decided to bat first against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. And the White Ferns got off to a strong start, reaching 39/0 at the end of the powerplay with Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer looking in good touch. But Pakistan hit back through the middle overs, as Nashra Sandhu bagged both openers.
Plimmer was first to go for 17 (from 14 balls), with Bates falling two overs later for 28 (29). And the dangerous Melie Kerr struggled to get going, scrapping to 9 (17) before being caught by returning Pakistan captain Fatima Sana, her second grab of the innings. Sophie Devine and Brooke Halliday rebuilt, steering New Zealand towards a decent total, but the excellence of Pakistan’s spinners meant that an insurmountable first-innings score was well out of reach heading into the death overs.

A smart stumping from Muneeba Ali ended Halliday’s time in the middle (22 from 24), and the skipper took two more catches to send back Devine (19 from 25) and Maddy Green (9 from 7). But eight catches went down in all in the innings, including three in the final over, as Pakistan missed the opportunity to restrict New Zealand even further.
Earlier on, New Zealand got off to a steady start courtesy of Bates and Georgia Plimmer. With the occasional boundary and rotation of strike, they moved to 39 for 0 in the PowerPlay. Nashra Sandhu in her first over saw the back of Plimmer, and subsequently dried up the scoring rate.
Sandhu’s slow pace saw the back of Bates in the next over with the veteran batter caught at long-on. In an attempt to release the pressure, Kerr fell too and suddenly New Zealand were only 67 for 3 in 14 overs. Brooke Halliday and Sophie Devine had a 38-run partnership which took New Zealand close to the 100-run mark. Gaze and Maddy Green took them past the three-figure mark which proved to be more than enough in the end to take the White Ferns to their first T20 World Cup semifinal since 2016.

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.
Amelia Kerr’s 3 wickets and Eden Carson’s 2 wickets skittles Pakistan to carry New Zealand to semis
Facing a tantalizing equation of needing to reach their 111 runs in 10.4 overs to progress on NRR, Pakistan came out swinging at the start of the second innings, with Muneeba Ali (15 from 11) setting the tone. But Muneeba, Aliya Riaz (0), Sadaf Shamas (2) and Iram Javed (3) all departed early as the required rate began to soar. And wickets continued to tumble as attacking intent undid a Pakistan side not used to playing in such a manner.
Fatima Sana had returned to the XI after missing the previous match due to the sad passing of her father, and she was the only batter other than Muneeba to reach double figures, hitting an excellent 21 (23). But the captain had little support and the game rushed to a conclusion as Pakistan were bowled out for just 56.

Amelia Kerr finished with the pick of the figures, coming into the attack after much of the early damage had already been done to bag 3/14, including the key wickets of Sana and Nida Dar, before wrapping up the win by dismissing Sadia Iqbal. It was the excellent Eden Carson who played the biggest part in taking away Pakistan’s momentum, with figures of 2/7 from three overs helping build the scoring rate pressure to unmanageable levels.
Incidentally, Pakistan were in with a shout to qualify having to chase the target within 10.4 overs to pip both India and New Zealand on NRR. They opted to go all-guns blazing and promoted renowned finisher Aliya Riaz to the top of the order. The move proved to be futile as Riaz was caught at mid-off for a duck off Eden Carson. But Muneeba Ali, who survived a LBW shout and a drop catch off Rosemary Mair’s bowling, did what Riaz failed to do. She lofted a boundary over the bowler’s head before she hit Lea Tahuhu for four in the next over.
The experienced Tahuhu bounced back with a full inswinger which castled the stumps of Muneeba, sending her back for just 15. It turned into chaos soon after, as Fran Jonas bowled Sadaf Shamas off her first-ball and Iram Javed was run-out courtesy of a direct-hit by Tahuhu from short third-man. Sidra Amin was deceived by a slower-ball off Mair – hearing the death rattle behind her – for a golden duck.
Nida Dar and Fatima Sana realised that the target was well-beyond their grasp to overcome within 10.4 overs and decided to play for the win, as they hit a couple of boundaries. But Kerr foxed Dar with a lovely flighted delivery, dragging her out of her crease in an easy stumping for Isabella Gaze.
Omaima Sohail and Syed Aroob Shah followed Dar back to the pavilion in the next two overs. Fatima Sana was then caught by Suzie Bates, all but ending Pakistan’s resistance. Kerr soon wrapped it up as Sadia Iqbal offered a simple catch to Bates.

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.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Sophie Devine New Zealand winning skipper said : Probably hasn’t sunk in yet [on the win]. Just so incredibly proud of this group. 2016 was the last semi-final we made in T20 World Cups. Been a long time between that. We will certainly celebrate this. Results haven’t gone our way leading into this tournament. But as a captain I am proud that we have stuck to the processes. Stuck to the belief in the group.
And when we get things right, we can beat any team on the world’s big stage. I am incredibly proud of the group which is so young. Eden [Carson] was superb. Isabella with the stumping was superb. To see them step up was amazing. Pakistan were incredibly clever the way they bowled. They took all the pace off. Made us work really hard. The wicket wasn’t that bad. You had to create ways and access different parts of the park.
They were brilliant. Having scratched to 110, you always wanted more. We knew we had to put more on the board. Pakistan were going to have a crack. It was going to be an exciting game. The girls stuck at it. We were able to pull through in the end. The great thing is we get a day off tomorrow. Got a couple of days of training and then it is about going in with open eyes and enjoying the experience.
Long time between the semis and I want them to enjoy it. Such an awesome experience. [for her young players] Big opportunity for them. Huge part of their careers. We would be looking to soak it up. It is going to be pressure. Going to be nerve-wracking. But these are the reasons why you play cricket. But hopefully we will lap it up. We will look to enjoy ourselves.
Fatima Sana the losing Pakistan skipper said : We were good in the bowling but we need to improve our fielding and batting. We were not up to the mark in batting and the seniors need to step up in that kind of matches. As a bowling unit we were up to the mark, but we need to improve in batting, otherwise we can’t survive in women’s cricket.
Eden Carsen Player of the Match for her two wickets said : I have no words. They played with intent at the start but our skills got us over the line. We looked at how Pakistan spinners did and we bowled to our plans and it came off tonight. [on her first wicket] Pretty happy with that, but an all-round team effort. Nida Dar and Fatima Sana are quality batters and we knew that we would not win if we did not get them out. [on how she is feeling after reaching the semis] Pretty good (giggles).
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.
New Zealand with a big win in the end and they make the semis for the first time since 2016. Brave effort from Pakistan who went for the target from ball one, they changed their batting order and sent in Aliya Riyaz to open alongside Muneeba Ali. But after a couple of fours, the wickets fell and from 19/1 Pakistan slipped to 28/5.
That’s when Nida Dar and Fatima Sana got together and they decided to go for the normal win. But a lovely piece of bowling from Amelia Kerr got the former and the end came very quickly as three wickets came in one Amelia Kerr over. It was always a high-risk strategy to play so aggressively on such a slow deck today and once Pakistan lost a few wickets in a row, there was no stopping New Zealand. Laudable though from Pakistan who at least went down trying.
New Zealand it is who once again are India’s bogey team in ICC tournaments and it is them who have sent the subcontinental side packing again in this edition. That loss to New Zealand in the first game hurt India big and from then on, it was always going to be tough to make the semis in such a league format. New Zealand though will be over the moon at making another semis after 2016. So Group A is done and we have Group B left. Just one game remaining in that group and it is between England and West Indies.
New Zealand’s win means they join Australia as qualifying from a competitive Group A, but neither side yet knows their semi-final opponents. England face West Indies in the last group match on Tuesday, with both teams, and South Africa, in contention to qualify. All matches at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 will be held in the two host cities of Dubai and Sharjah.