[1]Ellyse Perry took three wickets and held her nerve in a tense last over as Australia beat New Zealand by just three runs in a thrilling women’s World Twenty20 final.
With the White Ferns needing 14 off the last over, Perry — backed up by fine fielding from Rene Farrell and Shelley Nitschke — didn’t give up a boundary and the pace b
owler finished with impressive figures of 3/18 from her maximum four overs. Victory came just hours after Australia’s men’s team had lost in the corresponding final to arch-rivals England.
The result was tough on Sophie Devine, whose 38 not out off 35 balls rescued New Zealand from a top order collapse to give them a shot at victory just a year after they were beaten in the final to England at Lord’s.
New Zealand, chasing a modest 109 for victory after holding their rivals to 106/8, slumped to 29/4 inside eight overs. “We believed our total was going to be enough,” said Australia captain Alex Blackwell. “I know our bowling attack has the level-mindedness to get through whatever challenge was in front of them,” she added.
Perry, the player of the match, said: “From all the games we’ve played against New Zealand, they never give up and nor do we so we were all expecting it to go down to the wire.” — AFP
Scores: Australia 106/8 in 20 ovs (Poulton 20, Elliott not out 19; Browne 2/11, Devine 2/21) bt New Zealand 103/6 in 20 overs (Devine not out 38, Browne 20; Nitschke 1/10, Perry 3/18)
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/sp05185jpg-757