Bristol, June 23 (IANS) New Zealand captain Amelia Kerr hailed youngster Izzy Sharp’s match-winning innings after the defending champions defeated Scotland in their must-win ICC Women’s T20 World Cup clash to keep their semi-final hopes alive.

Chasing 132 after restricting Scotland to 131/7, New Zealand recovered from an early top-order collapse through Sharp’s composed half-century, prompting Kerr to single out the young batter while also acknowledging that her side still has areas to improve despite securing a crucial victory.

Reflecting on Sharp’s knock that rescued New Zealand from a precarious position, Kerr backed the youngster to develop into one of the game’s leading players.

“Obviously, we don’t want to keep losing three in the Power-play, but I think what a special knock from Izzy Sharp today,” Kerr said during the post-match presentation.

“I guess I’ve seen her in the nets and at Supersmash for a long time. And I just think she has the potential to be one of New Zealand’s best and be one of the best in the world. And today, for a young player to play the way she did was brilliant,” she added.

New Zealand fought back impressively with the ball after Scotland threatened to post a much bigger total through Darcey Carter’s unbeaten 72. The defending champions conceded 96 runs for the loss of only two wickets before pulling things back brilliantly in the closing overs to limit Scotland to 131.

Kerr was pleased with the turnaround after her bowlers tightened the screws at the death.

“Really happy to keep them to that total. I think they got off to a bit of a flyer, and Darcy Carter played a great innings. But then, I guess when it was about four overs to go, I thought we pulled them back really nicely,” Kerr stated.

While the result kept New Zealand’s campaign alive, Kerr admitted her side’s fielding standards were still short of where they wanted them to be.

“It was a bit of a mixture again in the field. You haven’t quite put it together yet, but I guess winning these close ones now when you were losing them earlier on is a good, better sign. Some good stuff in the field, but also some stuff where we can be a little bit better. And we know that, but yeah, just pleasing to get the win,” she added.

The New Zealand skipper also pointed out that sharper fielding could have made the chase significantly easier, saying, “And if we are 5 percent better, potentially, we’re only chasing 120.”

The victory sets up a high-stakes final group-stage encounter against hosts England at The Oval, with New Zealand’s qualification hopes still in their own hands.

Kerr welcomed the challenge of taking on the hosts in front of a packed crowd, as she said, “We are excited for it. I think The Oval is a great place to play cricket. Obviously, today the wicket was a little bit slower, and normally at The Oval it’s a belter. It’s a sellout. So that’s really exciting to play, you know, the host nation. And I guess it’s all to play for for us.”

–IANS

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