New Zealand eased past PNG to earn a consolation win in their last T20 World Cup 2024 match as they defeated them by seven wickets at the Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad. The Kiwis chased down the meagre total of 79 without much discomfort as they romped home inside 12.2 overs.
This was Trent Boult's last game in the T20 World Cups as he brought down the curtains to his career on the global stage of the format. Boult ended his final T20 WC game with figures of 2/14 and did not get a first-over wicket this time.
This time it was a Lockie Ferguson show, that blew apart the PNG side. Ferguson did an unthinkable thing when he sent in all of his four overs as a maiden and also took three wickets in them. Ferguson was unplayable, bowling hard-lengths and mixing it up with some yorker-length deliveries.
PNG managed to make only 78 with Charles Amini being the top-scorer with 17 from 25 balls to his name. In the run chase, New Zealand could not begin on a strong note as they lost Finn Allen early to Kabua Morea on the second ball before Rachin Ravindra holed out to deep mid-wicket in the 5th over for six runs. But Devon Conway played a sedate hand of 35 off 32 balls, laced with three sixes and two fours. Captain Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell took the Kiwis home with 18 and 19 run knocks.
This was New Zealand's second win of the tournament, with the first one coming in the previous match. The Kiwis have finished in third place in Group C behind West Indies and Afghanistan, both of whom have progressed into the tournament's next round.
The Kiwis suffered defeats in their opening two games to Afghanistan and West Indies, which pretty much sealed their fate. They thrashed Uganda and PNG but those wins were not enough for the 2021 T20 World Cup finalists. The Windies and Afghanistan will face each other in a dead rubber match on June 18 (as per IST), concluding the group stage.
