At an ICC tournament, West Indies have not defeated New Zealand hands-down since the 1999 World Cup. And West Indies weren’t even near to approaching that record on 112/9 following the 18th over. But Sherfane Rutherford, who was only batting in the Powerplay for the second time in his T20I career, was waiting patiently. He had hit two sixes and one boundary shot up to that moment in an otherwise poor innings that Trent Boult had a firm grip on following a brutal 4-1-16-3 stretch. Nearly half the job had been done, New Zealand could tell themselves, needing a win to keep themselves on track for a Super 8 spot.
Then came the precise time when Rutherford reversed it for the West Indies. Daryll Mitchell, who has been playing in the IPL, bowled to him, gaining velocity off the ball on the sluggish Tarouba ground in Port of Spain. After determining the fine-leg boundary, Rutherford patiently waited and forcefully hit Mitchell over the infield for a six. The next ball was meant to be a yorker, but it wound up in Rutherford’s arc, and he lofted it for six with ease. After pitching it short for two balls, Mitchell strangely allowed Rutherford to go inside its line and pull it over long-leg for the over’s third six. Rutherford had stormed to a 39-ball 68, scoring 37 runs off the final two overs and leading West Indies to 149 with two fours and another six off Mitchell Santner in the final over.
Guard number eleven and slow left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie on zero stayed firm throughout this onslaught, making this 37-run stand the greatest in T20 World Cup ever. After that, Motie put on a masterful performance of his own, scoring 3/25 to support quick bowler Alzarri Joseph’s 4/19 and help the West Indies win by 13 runs to move on to the next round. Uganda (26/5) during their pursuit of 78 against Papua New Guinea in Guyana last week was the only side to win a T20 World Cup match after losing their first five wickets for 30 runs or less. Since losing to Pakistan in the 2022 semifinal, New Zealand has now dropped three straight T20 World Cup games, their second-longest losing run in the sport. All because Rutherford opted for it rather than letting go.
West Indies captain Rovman Powell remarked, “We told the guys that somebody has to play a blinder,” following the match. “With the bad weather, it wasn’t going to be an easy wicket. We often think that in T20 cricket, individual skill is something that takes time, and Sherfane’s innings was an amazing knock. We felt more confident and, at the midway point, we had faith.”
It was likely a mistake for New Zealand to use up their finest front-line bowlers so quickly, relegating them to the final two overs alongside Mitchell and Santner. However, they are quite cunning bowlers, particularly Santner who has experienced this previously. Rutherford didn’t even get a game at the victorious Kolkata Knight Riders of the Indian Premier League this year, so his selection—ahead of the more seasoned Shimron Hetmyer—was also risky. However, he picked the ideal time to draw attention to the Caribbean’s vast pool of T20 experts.
Rutherford subsequently remarked, “Even though I wasn’t playing, you know I was preparing because I was in the IPL for two months.” I was simply urging myself to think things through. After our conversation, Daren Sammy, the West Indies white-ball coach, advised me to “try and take it deep.” As I descended farther, I began to gain momentum and believed that I would eventually catch up. The West Indies were far from flawless; they made mistakes in runs scored, dropped catches, and generally played sloppily on the field. They still have exceptional individual talent, though. Joseph, Andre Russell, or the determined Nicholas Pooran, who overtook Chris Gayle as the greatest scorer of Twenty20 international runs for the West Indies. To that list, add Rutherford, who most likely was unable to take advantage of his career’s pivotal moments prior to Thursday. But how, at last, has he arrived?
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