Megan Schutt’s 3-for-3 Leads Australia to Dominant Win Over New Zealand in T20 World Cup 2024
Megan Schutt Shines with 3 for 3 as Australia Moves Closer to T20 World Cup Semi-Finals
With a commanding 60-run victory over New Zealand, Australia Women moved one step closer to a place in the T20 World Cup 2024 semifinals. Together with assists from Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney, Megan Schutt’s incredible 3-for-3 spell helped Australia keep their winning streak intact. After their batting collapse, New Zealand was bowled out for 88, raising doubts about their chances of qualifying.
Key Performances and Match Analysis
Australia Women 148 for 8 (Mooney 40, Kerr 4-26) beat New Zealand Women 88 all out (Kerr 29, Schutt 3-3, Sutherland 3-21) by 60 runs.
In Sharjah, Australia defeated their rivals New Zealand by a commanding 60 runs, securing their place in the semi-finals and their 13th consecutive triumph in T20I World Cups. With a respectable net run-rate of 2.524 and two victories out of two, Australia is now the only team in the group without a loss. As they dropped to third position, New Zealand’s net run-rate significantly decreased due to the defeat margin, now falling short of Pakistan’s.
Australia’s outstanding all-around performance and well-executed strategy led to the victory. Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, and Ellyse Perry, their top order, all made significant contributions. Amelia Kerr, who finished with outstanding numbers of 4 for 26, tried her hardest to bring New Zealand back into the match, but Australia’s total of 148 for 8 on a slow surface always looked like too big of a chase.
Consequently, the hitters from New Zealand found it difficult to get going. Suzie Bates persevered for a bruising 20 off 27, with Kerr’s 29 off 31 representing the only other meaningful innings. Megan Schutt’s superb session of 3 for 3 was what held New Zealand at bay, even though she shared eight wickets with Sophie Molineux and Annabel Sutherland. For her performance, Schutt was named the Player-of-the-Match.
When Australia decided to bat, they may have thought they had won a decent toss on a surface with great layers of grass. Australia scored 43 during the powerplay, making that decision seem more sound than ever after Healy’s 26 off 20.
Had Healy not been persuaded by partner Mooney to review a leg-before-waiver ruling in the third over, however, it might not have been the case. The ruling that was overturned appeared to provide clarification, as Fran Jonas’s subsequent delivery was smoked throughout the delivery process. After two balls, one more over additional cover. Before scoring one run in the last over of the powerplay, she would replicate the trick in the following over as well.
Australia had laid the perfect foundation for their innings, even when Healy crashed trying to reach a sixth loft over the offside.
Perry in particular found it difficult to turn over the strike once the fielding limits were removed. The tension finally became apparent as she hit a straight shot too close to home, only for Maddy Green to squander the opportunity. New Zealand unsurprisingly came to the rue the wasted opportunity as Perry and Mooney pieced together the match’s top stand of 45 off 38.
From that point on, neither batter let up or became bogged down. They were anxious to move and keep clicking over singles even though limits were difficult to come by. It meant that Healy’s early salvo had created momentum that would never be regained. Mooney’s 40 off 32, which just featured the two boundaries, demonstrated this.
Following Mooney’s fall and subsequent capture while attempting to clear mid-off, Perry assumed the aggressive role, hitting Eden Carson for six over long-off and then repeatedly hitting her in the square leg. A pair of boundaries off two Kerr overs bookended those strikes, as Perry looked to steal the game away from New Zealand.
However, in the 14th over, Kerr struck twice in a row to dismiss Perry and Grace Harris, having earlier removed Mooney, just as Australia was about to really let loose. Kerr took one more before signing off, bringing it three wickets in a five-ball spell for the legspinner.
Although Australia’s tendency to pick up singles mixed in with the occasional boundary meant they still managed to score 32 runs off the final five overs, these wickets had the effect of stifling their momentum. Though not to their liking, it was sufficient to propel them towards a rather commanding sum.
Australia’s objective was to simply make life as difficult as possible for New Zealand’s hitters, and they succeeded in doing so, knowing they had a respectable total on the board. With strong backing from her teammates, Schutt established the tone with her perfect lines and lengths, never letting the batters swing their arms.
As a result, even though they only dropped one wicket during the powerplay, New Zealand could only manage to score 29 runs. The scoreboard had nearly reached 54 by the tenth over, but they were still down one wicket.
Then, in the last ten overs, they finally reached the conclusion they had been hoping for, as batter after hitter was eliminated while attempting to hit out. Ultimately, New Zealand never entered the race during the pursuit.
