Survival mode on for New Zealand against spirited Scotland

Fighting to stay afloat, current title-holders New Zealand take on Scotland in their Group B Women's T20 World Cup clash, aiming for a big win to keep qualification hopes in their favour.

The two teams haven't yet met in Women's T20Is: on paper, New Zealand, placed fourth in the ICC rankings, should comfortably breeze past Scotland, ranked 11th. But this has been anything but a straightforward campaign for the holders. They failed to defend 162 and 150 against West Indies and Sri Lanka in their first two games, two crucial losses that sent their campaign into a tizzy.

They were nearly shaken by Ireland too but managed to prevail with a four-run win. Unlike Ireland, Scotland aren't yet eliminated and will aim to play killjoys to thwart New Zealand's desperate attempt to stay alive.

New Zealand's lack of wickets has been an issue: their bowlers have taken a combined nine wickets, the least among all 12 teams in the competition so far. For context, England - top of the list - have 25. At the same time, they are yet to cross 162 in three attempts, and none of their batters have gone past 45 yet. They would be relieved to get out of Southampton though, the venue of their first three contests.

After their win over Ireland, Scotland came close to upsetting West Indies, losing by seven runs. A bitter defeat to England followed, but they have shown they have enough to really push good teams on their day. The contributions of their top four have been particularly encouraging, but they would look to tighten their fielding from the England match. Speaking after the game, Scotland's Hannah Rainey admitted it cost them "at least 20 runs". Against a hungry New Zealand, there's no cushion for that.

When:Tuesday, June 23, 2026, 10:30 AM Local/3:00 PM IST

Where: County Ground, Bristol

What to expect: There's an excessive heat alert in the area, with temperatures going up to 36 degrees Celsius and no prediction of rain. The average first-innings score in the last 11 matches at the venue is 152. There was a fair bit of grass on the surface West Indies and Sri Lanka played on, with Hayley Matthews putting them into bat, and folding them for 98.

Team news:

New Zealand: Sophie Devine missed the Ireland fixture due to illness, swapping places with another veteran, Suzie Bates. She hit a vital, unbeaten 19, and then turned up to bowl the final over, defending 15 runs. Eager for no more slip-ups, New Zealand could be tempted to keep Bates's experience in one of the other spots as Devine makes her way back in.

Predicted XI: Isabella Gaze (wk), Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr (c), Sophie Devine (if fit), Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Izzy Sharp/Suzie Bates, Jess Kerr, Nensi Patel, Rosemary Mair, Bree Illing

Scotland were forced to make a couple of changes in the last game, with Pippa Sproul and Hannah Rainey coming in for Ailsa Lister and Rachel Slater. It remains to be seen what combination they eventually go with, based on their fitness status ahead of the game.

Predicted XI: Darcey Carter, Katherine Fraser, Kathryn Bryce (c), Sarah Bryce (wk), Megan McColl, Pippa Sproul/Ailsa Lister, Priyanaz Chatterji, Kirstie Gordon, Chloe Abel, Hannah Rainey/Rachel Slater, Gabriella Fontenla

Did you know?

- Sophie Devine has hit more sixes this year (17) than anyone, despite missing four of New Zealand's 14 Women's T20Is

- Scotland and New Zealand have the same win/loss ratio (1.8) in Women's T20Is this year (9 wins, 5 losses)

- In Women's T20s since 2025, the Bristol County Ground has seen the lowest run-rate in the first six overs (6.62) among all seven venues of this T20 World Cup

What they said:

"Yeah, there's still mathematically an opportunity. We win three games of cricket and we obviously will need other results to go our way. But as we've seen in this tournament, any team can beat anyone. And I think the standard of this pool, especially the way Ireland and Scotland have played, having not played as many World Cups as other teams, they've been brilliant. And there's no reason why any team can't beat anyone" - New Zealand's Amelia Kerr, after the Ireland game.

"I think we've had a couple of really cool games the other day against the West Indies and played a lot of really good cricket again today (June 20) against a really good side (England). So I think if we go out there with the same sort of intent and just do a few things a little bit better, then we'll be hopefully in a position to get one on the board" - Scotland's Kathryn Bryce after the England game.