New Delhi, 28 June (H.S.):

Defending champions New Zealand were knocked out of the 2026 ICC Women's T20 World Cup after suffering a comprehensive nine-wicket defeat to England in the 28th match of the tournament. Following the loss, New Zealand captain Amelia Kerr admitted that the campaign had been a disappointing one for her side.

With the defeat at Kennington Oval in London, New Zealand's journey ended in the group stage, while hosts England secured their fifth consecutive victory to finish at the top of Group B and qualify for the semi-finals. Despite losing to Ireland earlier in the tournament, the West Indies also progressed to the last four.

Reflecting on the defeat, Kerr said Ireland had given New Zealand an opportunity to reach the semi-finals, and her team needed to produce its best performance in the crucial match.

Ireland gave us a chance to qualify for the semi-finals, and today we had to be at our best. During our innings, there were moments when it felt like we could post a much bigger total, but we lost a few wickets at crucial stages. Still, we scored more than 160 runs, so with disciplined bowling we believed we had a chance to win, she said.

She added that a few more runs and greater discipline with the ball could have made the contest far more competitive.

Speaking about the overall tournament, Kerr acknowledged that the campaign had fallen short of expectations.

We all agree that this has been a disappointing tournament for us. Our goal was to reach the semi-finals. There is still plenty of room for improvement in our team. If we can improve by even five percent in batting, bowling and fielding, we can become a very dangerous side. We have several talented young players who will continue to grow stronger in the years ahead, she said.

In the match, New Zealand elected to bat first after winning the toss and posted 163 for six in their allotted 20 overs. The innings began steadily, with the opening pair adding 44 runs in the first six overs without losing a wicket. However, the team then lost three wickets in quick succession after reaching 70.

Captain Amelia Kerr top-scored with a valuable 42, while Isabella Gaze contributed 28. Sophie Devine played a brisk knock of 30 off just 14 deliveries, Brooke Halliday added 20, Maddie Green remained unbeaten on 17, and Suzie Bates chipped in with 19 runs.

For England, Danielle Gibson was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets, while Lauren Bell and Freya Kemp claimed one wicket each.

Chasing a target of 164, England launched an aggressive reply from the outset. Amy Jones was dismissed for 17, but Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley then stitched together a match-winning partnership that ended New Zealand's hopes of a comeback. Wyatt-Hodge remained unbeaten on 89, while Dunkley finished unbeaten on 49, guiding England to a dominant nine-wicket victory with 16 balls to spare.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar