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A sensational 90 from Shemaine Campbelle and a four-wicket haul by Aaliyah Alleyne helped West Indies beat defending champions New Zealand by seven wickets in their ICC Women's T20 World Cup campaign opener at Southampton on Saturday.
Chasing 163, Shemaine scored a composed, steady 62-ball 90*, with seven fours and three sixes. It was a four-wicket haul from Aaliyah (4/27), which restricted the Kiwis to 162/6 in 20 overs. After the Windies put the Kiwis to bat first, Aaliyah gave 2016 champions the breakthrough wicket of Georgia Plimmer (8), ending the first wicket 49-run stand and got key scalps of Amelia Kerr (5) and Isabella Gaze (39 in 29 balls, with eight fours) in her next over. NZ sunk to 56/3 in 7.4 overs. Sophie Devine (22 in 15 balls, with three fours) put on a 45-run stand with Brooke Halliday, taking NZ past the 100-run mark. Halliday's 32-ball 40, with five fours and Maddy Green's 35* in 22 balls, with four boundaries and a six, pushed NZ to a modest 162/6. Skipper Hayley Matthews needed to give a fine start to her side, and the captain stamped her authority, dealing in boundaries during a 74-run stand with Shemaine for the second wicket after Qiana Joseph (2) fell early. The captain scored 48 in 37 balls, with six fours and a six. Hayley Matthews' shoulders as West Indies walked out for the chase. She stamped her authority with back-to-back fours. However, a misunderstanding while running between the wickets saw Qiana Joseph run out early. West Indies and Campbelle changed the tempo in the last six overs. The Guyanese player put on a display of power-hitting and brought up her first T20I fifty with a big heave over long on. With the match going down to the wire, Campbelle kept her nerves, taking WI to the finishing line with a ball to spare. Jess Kerr was the only New Zealand bowler among wickets on Saturday, taking 2/17 in four overs. With that, the West Indies avenged the semi-final defeat at the 2024 T20 World Cup. (ANI)
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