Few would have had New Zealand as semi-final contenders before the tournament began as they came in with 10 straight T20 defeats, but started in sensational style by thumping potential winners India in their opener.
And despite a heavy defeat by relentless Australia, they have continued to dominate against Sri Lanka and Pakistan to finish the group stage with plenty of momentum.
The pre-match equation was simple, with a win of any margin enough, but there appeared to be some early nerves in the batting line-up given the pressure of the situation.
Pakistan will rue the dropped catches – it was a pitiful display which saw bonus chances given to Bates, Kerr, Sophie Devine and Brooke Halliday.
None of them capitalised enough to really rub salt into the wound, but just enough to ensure that Pakistan had to go hard early in their chase and maintain it, which proved way beyond their capabilities.
Opener Muneeba Ali struck two early boundaries in her 15 before she was bowled by Lea Tahuhu, who also brilliantly ran out number three Iram Javed from short third.
The powerful Aliya Riaz was promoted to open but the experiment did not pay off as she fell for a duck, as did Sidra Ameen, while captain Fatima Sana’s 21 from 23 balls was the only contribution of note as the middle to lower order was skittled by the wily spin of Kerr and Carson.
And while there were wild screams of delight and hugs of joy between the New Zealand players at the end, there will be a thorough examination for India, who would have been watching anxiously, but ultimately in despair.
They launched a huge franchise tournament, the Women’s Premier League, in early 2023 to catch up with Australia and while it has seen the emergence of some young talent including spinner Shreyanka Patil and seamer Arundhati Reddy, this is a disappointing tournament from the 2020 finalists.
They thrashed Sri Lanka and Pakistan, fought admirably against Australia but it was the opening defeat by New Zealand that left them with an uphill climb, one which proved too steep.
