What is the lowest team total for New Zealand in the history of the T20 World Cup?
The 2014 T20 World Cup that took place in Bangladesh was a spectacle for cricket fans all across the globe. It saw a lot of records being broken, and it gave the fans a lot of thrilling finishes that no one had expected to see. It was a tournament for the bowlers, as they enjoyed bowling a lot on the wickets that assisted them, which is usually not the case in T20 cricket.
In Chattogram on March 31, 2014, in the match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, the curators prepared a turning wicket, which was a lot of help for the spinners as the ball was turning and the batters had no clue how to tackle it. As a result, the New Zealand team broke an unwanted record and registered their lowest ever team total in the history of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
After winning the toss, New Zealand invited Sri Lanka to bat first, as they wanted to see how the pitch played. The Sri Lankan batters came out to bat positively, as Kusal Perera started with a couple of boundaries, but then it was all about the New Zealand bowlers.
The excellent display of bowling from the Black Caps and a poor batting show from the Sri Lanka team resulted in them making a score of just 119 runs, as they were bowled out in 19.2 overs. It was a straightforward chase for New Zealand, as they required running a ball to win the match, but they made a meal of the chase and made their lowest ever team total in the T20 World Cup’s history.
Also Read: Your guide to buying IPL 2024 Playoff Tickets
They could only put 60 runs on the board in response to Sri Lanka’s 119, as all the batters except Kane Williamson got out on a single-digit score. Williamson scored 42 runs and showed some fight with his quality batting but did not receive any support from the other end as four batters registered a duck in the inning.
Rangana Herath bowled a spell for the ages and put on a spin bowling masterclass as he ended with the figures of 3.3-2-3-5 and the player of the match award.
