New Zealand captain Sophie Devine said her team could take pride in the way they had come back to keep their Women's T20 World Cup hopes alive after they completed a 102-run rout of Sri Lanka at Boland Park in Paarl Sunday.
"We've given ourselves a chance, even it's only a small, tiny chance," said Devine.
That they would still be in the reckoning for a place in the semi-finals seemed impossible when they were beaten by 97 runs in their first match against Australia and by 65 runs against South Africa.
But the White Ferns stormed back with an 81-run win against Bangladesh before turning on the power Sunday, scoring 162 for three and then bowling out Sri Lanka for 60.
"We spoke about scoring 160 even though it was a tougher wicket than Newlands (in Cape Town)," said Devine.
That was achieved through half-centuries by Suzie Bates (56) and Amelia Kerr (66) after Bernadine Bezuidenhout set the tone with an aggressive 32 off 20 balls.
"We always knew 160 was going to be competitive and then the bowlers were fantastic," said Devine.
New Zealand moved into second place in Group One behind defending champions and semi-final bound Australia but will be overtaken if hosts South Africa beat Bangladesh at Newlands Tuesday.
Sri Lanka, who won their first two matches, finished the group stage level on points with New Zealand but were eliminated on net run rate.
"It was a tough day in the middle," admitted Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu.
"I have only a few experienced players in the team. We learnt a lot of things today."
The New Zealand batters went for their shots and ran hard between wickets.
It was a performance that was in stark contrast to an earlier match on the same pitch when neither the West Indies nor Pakistan could achieve a scoring rate of a run a ball.
Sri Lanka wilted under the pressure.
Bezuidenhout and Bates were both dropped and there were numerous misfields.
Set to score more than eight runs an over, Sri Lanka's chances evaporated rapidly.
They lost three wickets in the six-over powerplay before Kerr delivered a killer blow by trapping Athapaththu for 19 in the eighth over.
New Zealand used six bowlers and they all took wickets, with Lea Tahuhu and Kerr taking two each.
17TH MATCH
New Zealand 162/3 (Kerr 66, Bates 56) beat Sri Lanka 60 in 15.5 overs (Kerr 2/7, Tahuhu 2/12) by 102 runs
Matthews stars as Pakistan fall short
The West Indies captain Hayley Matthews said a strong finish in their Women's T20 World Cup campaign gave her hope for the future of the sport in the Caribbean.
The West Indies beat Pakistan by three runs at Boland Park in Paarl to finish their group fixtures with two wins out of four.
Although it is virtually impossible for the West Indies to progress to the semi-finals, Matthews said the T20 World Cup had been an important turning point.
They ended a 15-match T20 losing streak when they beat Ireland in their previous match and showed character in the win over Pakistan, defending a total of just 116 for six, which Matthews said was "20 runs short."
"We had to be extra special in the field. We spoke about putting our bodies behind the ball," she said.
The West Indies were hit by injuries during the tournament, notably to long-time star Stafanie Taylor, and Matthews admitted they had not performed well with the bat.
"When we get back home we need to get back on the training ground. We have a lot of young players in our squad and with our young players developing we are moving in the right direction," added the skipper.
Matthews was inspirational in the field Sunday, holding a stinging early catch and then taking two for 14 with her off-spinners as Pakistan could only manage 113 for five.
It was a bitter-sweet day for Pakistan veteran Nida Dar, who took two for 13 in four overs of accurate off-spin to equal former West Indies player Anisa Mohammed's record of 125 wickets in women's T20 internationals.
Dar scored 27 runs in Pakistan's reply but couldn't take her team to victory.
The result ensured that England, with three wins in three matches, qualified for the semi-finals.
Pakistan still have a mathematical chance if they can beat England in their final match and India, currently second in Group Two, slip up against Ireland, who have yet to win a match.
"It is a very important match for us," said Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof.
"We have played good cricket and we will try to continue that."
The batters found it difficult to score quickly on a slow pitch and there were only nine boundaries in the West Indian innings and eight when Pakistan batted.
16TH MATCH
West Indies 116/6 (Williams 30, Dar 2/13) beat Pakistan 113/5 (Aliya 29, Matthews 2/14) by three runs
