Windies beat Thailand; Devine’s 50 helps NZ beat Lanka

Perth, February 22

West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor helped her side to a seven-wicket win in the Women’s T20 World Cup with an all-round display against Thailand, who showed they are no pushovers during an impressive global debut.

New Zealand’s Sophie Devine also led from the front, smashing an unbeaten 75 for her sixth straight T20 half-century, to guide them to a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the day’s other match.

The Thais, who came through the World Cup qualifiers to join the top-9 teams for the tournament, struggled to score freely after choosing to bat against a strong West Indies bowling attack at the WACA and managed a paltry 78/9 in 20 overs.

The 28-year-old Taylor was the most successful bowler with figures of 3/13 from three overs but also needed to top-score with an unbeaten 26 for the 2016 champions, after they were reduced to 27/3 inside seven overs in their chase. — Reuters

Brief Scores: Thailand: 78/9 in 20 overs (N. Koncharoenkai 33; SR Taylor 3/13); West Indies: 80/3 in 16.4 overs (SR Taylor 26; S Lateh 1/21)

Sri Lanka: 127/7 in 20 overs (AC Jayangani 41; HNK Jensen 3/16); New Zealand: 131/3 in 17.4 overs (SFM Devine 75; AC Jayangani 1/26)