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'See you next time, Kiwis' - New Zealand sign off T20 World Cup 2024 campaign with convincing victory over PNG

Both teams were already out of the tournament, but this particular game will be written down in the tournament's history because of one person, Lockie Ferguson.

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Arunima Purohit
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Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, and Tim Southee (Source: X)

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The 39th game of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 between New Zealand and Papua New Guinea ended up in the Black Cap's favour as they clinched victory by seven wickets. Both teams are out of the tournament, but this particular game will be written down in the tournament's history because of one person, Lockie Ferguson. The bowler became the first player to bowl four maidens in four overs, including three wickets in the history of T20 World Cups. This is a record that will take years to be broken. 

The Black Caps won the toss and invited PNG to bat first. However, they could only score 78 runs, with only three batters scoring above 10 runs. The batting line-up shattered like cards thanks to New Zealand's brilliant bowling attack. All the bowlers were brilliant today, with Lockie Ferguson being exceptional. While Ferguson got three wickets, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Ish Sodhi took two wickets each. 

Also Read: Lockie Ferguson bowls four maidens in four overs at T20 World Cup 2024

New Zealand batters struggled to chase the mere target, with Fin Allen departing on 0. Devon Conway emerged as the man for the team as he played a brilliant and responsible innings of 35 runs off 32 balls, along with Dayll Mitchell's 19 off 12 balls. Kabua Morea of PNG took two wickets by conceding just four runs. For an outstanding performance, Ferguson was given the Player of the Match. 

New Zealand are among top 12 qualified teams in T20 World Cup 2026

The ninth edition of the T20 World Cup 2024 didn't go well for the New Zealand team, as they started their campaign late and got eliminated in the 1st stage. The Kiwis couldn't qualify for the Super 8 this time, and the question of them playing in the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2026 was rising. 

However, as per ICC's guidelines, New Zealand and Pakistan both qualified despite being eliminated this year because of their ICC T20I rankings, where both are in 6th and 7th position, respectively. Hence, the Black Caps will directly play the T20 World Cup 2026, which will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka.  

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