New Zealand all-rounder Leigh Kasperek is not worried after the batting collapse against Bangladesh in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, saying that it is not a "cause of concern."
"I don't think it's a cause for concern. They'll probably be a little bit disappointed with how they've gone. But they've been hitting well in training and we're lucky we've got the number one and number two batters in the world," Kasperek said.
New Zealand on Saturday created the record for defending the lowest total in a non-reduced Women's T20 World Cup match. The side achieved the feat after defending a total of 91 against Bangladesh at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.
New Zealand managed to win the match by 17 runs to maintain their hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
"I think the very fact that against both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka we've managed to get over the line proves that. Other people have been stepping up. You want your big players to step up in big games. So hopefully, they can do that against Australia on Monday," Kasperek said.
"We learnt a lot from how Bangladesh bowled in their innings. We went out there and tried to keep it as simple as possible, bowling straight to hit the wickets," she added.
Chasing 92, Bangladesh lost their first two wickets with just 19 runs on the board. Murshida Khatun (11) and Ayasha Rahman (1) both failed to leave a mark and allowed New Zealand to have a glimmer of hope in the match.
Kiwi bowlers were able to maintain a stranglehold on the Bangladesh batters and as a result, Fargana Hoque (0) and Ritu Moni (10) were sent back to the pavilion via a run-out, reducing Bangladesh to 37/4.
Bangladesh kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and with this, the side failed to create any sort of momentum.
Hayley Jensen and Kasperek both bagged three wickets each while skipper Sophie Devine scalped one wicket and returned with the figure of 1-41 in her four overs.
"Hayley and Sophie [Devine] did that really well, so credit to them. When you're defending a small total, you have to switch on more than you ever would normally and do anything you can to defend it," Kasperek said.
New Zealand will next face the hosts Australia at Junction Oval in Melbourne on March 2.
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