By Sports Reporter
Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago: New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson finished with the remarkable figures of three wickets for no runs in his maximum four overs as Papua New Guinea were dismissed for just 78 in a T20 World Cup match on Monday.
The 33-year-old fast bowler’s return in Tarouba was the most economical in any T20 World Cup match, surpassing Nuwan Kulasekara’s 1-2 in two overs for Sri Lanka against the Netherlands in Chattogram in 2014.
Papua New Guinea, a non-Test nation, were 14-1 from four overs after losing the toss in this Group C fixture when Ferguson came on to bowl.
He followed that over with a maiden to Sese Bau and was then taken out of the attack.
Ferguson returned for the 12th over and, two balls in, had Charles Amini lbw for 17 — the top score of the innings — on review.
The next ball went for two leg byes, but those runs do not count against a bowler, with Kiplin Doriga blocking Ferguson’s last delivery of the game back to the express quick.
But his superb analysis, came too late for New Zealand, already eliminated in the first round before their final group game following defeats by Afghanistan and the West Indies, the tournament co-hosts.
Chasing a paltry 79 to win, New Zealand over hauled the target in just 12.2 overs.
Devon Conway top scored with 35 from 32 deliveries, while Kane Williamson (18) and Daryl Mitchell (19) remained unbeaten till the end to guide their team home.
