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New Zealand secured an important and much-needed 71-run victory over Bangladesh in their third match of the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Cape Town on Friday, February 17. Leader in the dressing room and former captain of the White Ferns Suzie Bates was the star of the night when she became only the third batter after Virat Kohli and Mahela Jayawardene to score 1000 runs in T20 World Cups.
Bates, who had a very poor start to the tournament, achieved this feat against Nigar Sultana's Bangladesh, on the way to her unbeaten 81 runs off 61 balls. Her innings included seven fours and one six and set up an opening wicket partnership of 77 runs with Bernadine Bezuidenhout. In doing so, the 37-year-old also became the first batter to score over 1000 runs in the Women's T20 World Cup.
After being put in to bat first, New Zealand racked up a massive score of 189 for the loss of three wickets. As the wickets kept falling at the other end, Bates continued to bat until the very end. In 35 T20 World Cup matches, Bates has now scored 1010 runs at an average of 31.56 and a strike rate of 114.12 and a top score of an unbeaten 94.
Recently, she also registered for the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) but failed to attract a buyer. Bates is also the all-time leading run-scorer in the history of Women's T20Is.
After Bernadine Bezuidenhout (44 off 26) lost her wicket, Amelia Kerr (16 off 13) and skipper Sophie Devine (0 off 1) went cheaply. Bates then combined with Maddy Green, who also remained unbeaten 44 off 20, and helped New Zealand to a high score.
In response, none of the Bangladeshi batters really settled into the crease, with opener Murshida Khatun (30 off 38) and Shorna Akter (31 off 22) their highest run-getters. They were eventually restricted to 118/8 in 20 overs as the White Ferns eliminated the Asian minnows from the competition.
Speaking after the game, Bates was actually unaware of her latest achievement, "Didn't know that. I've been around a long time. Just really disappointed with the way we started. That's the nature of World Cups, you have to start well. We may not make it to the semis though, so that's a bit disappointing. But we'll stick with this brand of cricket."
