Bristol: Defending champions New Zealand beat Scotland in the second match of the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup by six wickets to boost their semi-final chances.
Chasing a target of 132, the White Ferns cruised to victory with four wickets in 18.2 overs thanks to a match-winning innings from Izzy Sharp and Brooke Holliday.
Sharpe top-scored with 62 off 43 balls with 8 fours and a six, while Halliday scored 41 off 38 balls with 3 fours.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Isabella Gass scored 16 runs off 17 balls with 2 fours, while skipper Mellie Kerr and Sophie Devine chipped in with two and one runs respectively.
Rachel Slater and Kathryn Price took 2 wickets each for Scotland.
Batting first, New Zealand were restricted to 131-7 in the allotted 20 overs despite a battling innings from opener Darcy Carter and useful contributions from Sarah Price and Briannaz Chatterjee.
Carter top scored 72 off 52 balls with 8 fours and a six, while Price added 25 off 22 balls including 3 fours.
Lower-order batsman Chatterjee scored 12 runs off one ball with a boundary as the rest of the batting line-up failed to reach double figures.
Top-order batsman Kathryn Fraser was dismissed cheaply for 7 off 17 balls, while captain Kathryn Price scored 5 off 7 balls, hitting a boundary.
Ailsa Lister and Megan McCall were dismissed for two and one respectively, while Pippa Sproul fell for a duck off the second ball.
Megan Kerr led the bowling attack for the defending champions, returning figures of 3/17 from four overs. Sophie Devine took 2 wickets and Nancy Patel and Leah Dahuhu took one wicket each.
New Zealand are all set to face England in the final on June 27 at The Oval.