The White Ferns have triumphed 2-1 over the West Indies in the Twenty20 series, winning the third and final Twenty20 in a dramatic superover at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex in Kingstown, St Vincent.
Having won the toss and opted to bat first, the White Ferns top order combined to post 111-5 in the first innings. Deandra Dottin (54) once again spear-headed the West Indies response, but could only manage to tie the scores at the end of 20 overs, forcing a superover. Morna Nielsen then held the West Indies to 5-2 in their over, with the White Ferns then surpassing that total after four balls.
Earlier, Rachel Priest (29) and Sophie Devine (30) got the side off to a bright start, but couldn’t capitalise once they’d established themselves at the crease. At 81-4 the White Ferns still needed someone to take control of the final overs, with Katie Perkins taking on the role brilliantly.
The 26-year-old crunched an unbeaten 31 from 20 balls, including two fours and a six, to elevate the White Ferns to a respectable total.
In similar style to previous matches, the West Indies once again relied on Dottin to keep them in the match. Hayley Jensen and Amy Satterthwaite each took three wickets to put the West Indies on the back foot, but Dottin persisted and steered her side through to the 20th over before falling with a further four runs required to win. The White Ferns restricted them to three, forcing a superover.
The West Indies batted first in the superover, with Nielsen beginning things with a wicket first ball. The home side only managed to post five, before Suzie Bates blasted the White Ferns to the win and series victory after just four balls.
The White Ferns will now return to New Zealand.
