West Indies knocks New Zealand out

PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka: Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels held their nerve in a one-over eliminator for West Indies to knock out New Zealand at the World Twenty20 yesterday.
Chasing 18 for victory, Gayle and Samuels both hit a six off Tim Southee as West Indies raced to 19-0 in five balls in the Super Eights match.
West Indies’ players ran onto the field and danced to celebrate their win straight after Samuels hit Southee for a six over midwicket for the winning runs.
New Zealand scored 17-0 in its Super Over, with captain Ross Taylor hitting a six and a four off Marlon Samuels’ offspin to go along with his 62 not out during the preceding 20 overs.
“Marlon Samuels is my ‘go to man’ in pressure situations. He’s suffering from a bad shoulder, so that’s why he doesn’t bowl more,” West Indies captain Darren Sammy said. “I think we’ll stay for a while after and watch the next game very closely.”
In the regulation game, New Zealand needed 14 off the last over after West Indies had been bowled out for 139.
Taylor scored 12 off Samuels’ first five deliveries before Doug Bracewell was run out by substitute fielder Dwayne Smith’s direct hit at the striker’s end on the last ball to also leave New Zealand on 139-7.
New Zealand also lost its first Group 1 match in a one-over eliminator, against Sri Lanka, and was beaten by England on Saturday.
“To score 18 off five balls is pretty awesome . . . that’s cricket and we’re going home now,” Taylor said. “We probably should have won it in normal time, but credit to West Indies.”
West Indies ended with four points from three matches, but has to wait for the outcome of the match between Sri Lanka and England later Monday to determine the semifinalists from the group.
Offspinner Sunil Narine turned the match on its head by giving away only three runs in the 19th over and getting rid of Nathan McCullum for 5 to finish with figures of 3-20.
Taylor held the innings together, but wickets were lost and the run rate mounted with Samuel Badree and Ravi Rampaul bowling decent spells. Badree took 1-18 and Rampaul 1-23.
Taylor hit three fours and as many sixes in his 40-ball knock, but Sammy maneuvered his bowlers well before pushing the match in one-over eliminator.
Earlier, Southee and Bracewell took three wickets each after Taylor won the toss and opted to field as West Indies was bowled out with three balls remaining.
The Kiwis struck at regular intervals after Gayle hit three fours and two sixes for a typically flamboyant 30 off 14 balls before being caught behind in the seventh over off Southee.
Bracewell removed Johnson Charles and pinch-hitter Andre Russell cheaply in his first spell and got rid of Kieron Pollard for 28 upon his return to finish with 3-31.
Offspinner Nathan McCullum ran through the middle order, removing Samuels for 24 and Darren Bravo for 16, before Southee polished off the tail to take 3-21.
West Indies looked set to post a competitive total after Gayle and Samuels put on 60 in the first six overs, all of them the batting powerplay, smashing Mills for 16 runs in one over and 17 from Jacob Oram at the other end.
But the innings derailed soon after Gayle’s departure, with Samuels being caught at long-on in the 11th over.

West Indies also missed the powerful hitting of Dwayne Bravo in the middle order after the batsman was ruled out of the match because of a groin injury, but in the end it mattered little for them.