ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, Final, NZ vs SA: Amelia Kerr, Rosemary Mair shine as New Zealand beat South Africa and lift their maiden World T20 title.
Brief Scores: New Zealand women 158/5 (Amelia Kerr 43, Brookie Halliday 28, Nonkululeko Mlaba 2/31) beat South Africa women 126/9 (Laura Wolvaardt 33, Amelia Kerr 3/24, Rosemarry Mair 3/25) by 32 runs.
Player of the Match: Amelia Kerr (43 and 3/24)
After 17 days of entertainment, South Africa women and New Zealand women locked horns for the final of the 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Dubai. This was the second consecutive final of the tournament for the Proteas. The White Ferns made their third T20 World Cup final, the first since 2010.
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and decided to bowl first. The dry pitch was expected to help the spinners, but the dew was anticipated later in the evening.
New Zealand post competitive total of 158/5Â
Put into bat first, New Zealand started strongly, with 43 runs coming in the powerplay for the loss of just one wicket. Most of their batters used their feet to counter the swing of the opposition. But the spinners brought South Africa back into the contest. For 50 deliveries since the last over of the powerplay, the two-time runners-up went without hitting a boundary.
Amelia Kerr and Brooke Halliday put up a vital 57-run stand for the fourth wicket to rescue them. Later, an unbeaten 12 runs in just six balls from Maddy Green carried them to 158/5 in 20 overs.
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South Africa struggled with 126/9; third time lucky for New Zealand
South Africa needed to start positively with the bat. They scored 47 runs in the first six overs. Captain Wolvaardt nailed medium-pacer Rosemary Mair around the ground. Her partner Tazmin Brits also contributed to the 51-run opening stand. But once the fields opened up and the spinners came into the attack, the scoring became the hardest job.
In the next four overs, the Proteas made just 17 runs for the loss of three wickets. Kerr used the pace beautifully to find the opposition at 77/5 in 12.1 overs.
White Ferns’ fielding was excellent, and the pressure got the better of the Rainbow Nation. Boundaries dried up and felt way short of the target. They finished on 126/9 in 20 overs, as New Zealand earned their deserving title on the third attempt.
Statistical highlights from SA vs NZ, T20 WC Final 2024
- New Zealand’s 158/5 is the second-highest total in the Women’s T20 World Cup final.Â
- The 57-run stand between Kerr and Halliday is the highest fourth-wicket partnership for New Zealand against South Africa in WT20Is.
- Nonkululeko Mlaba has now 50 WT20I wickets.Â
- Amelia Kerr finished as the leading wicket-taker (15) of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
- Laura Wolvaardt ended as the top run-getter with 223 runs in the event.Â
- Suzie Bates has grabbed the most catches (7) in this tournament.
- The 51-run stand between Wolvaardt and Brits is the highest opening stand for SA (W) against NZ (W).
- SA(W), despite ending as runners-up, have the highest aggregate team score tally (777) in the WT20 World Cup 2024.
What’s to come in women’s cricket
New Zealand will make a trip to India for a three-match ODI series, which starts on October 24. All the games will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. South Africa, on the other hand, will host England for a three-match T20I series, starting on November 24.
Read More: Women’s T20 WC 2024, IND vs NZ: Mair & Tahuhu combined 7-34 demolishes India; NZ win by 58 runs
