October 20, 2024 was a historic day for the New Zealand women’s cricket team as they lifted the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup Trophy for the first time. The White Ferns started the tournament as underdogs but proved themselves to be worthy champions. The Kiwis triumphed over South Africa in one of the most dominant performances witnessed in a T20 World Cup Final.
South Africa fail to capitalise on NZ’s lost momentum
The South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt had won the toss and chosen to bowl first. New Zealand started their innings with a bang, with Georgia Plimmer (9) and Suzie Bates (32) powering the team to 43 runs in the powerplay.
However, the momentum slowed down once Amelia Kerr arrived at the crease. Bates and Kerr stitched a steady partnership of 37 (36 balls). The slowdown was largely because of South Africa’s penetrative spin attack. Even skipper Sophie Devine fell short and failed to contribute significantly.
The tide started to turn for New Zealand when Brooke Halliday found her rhythm in the 14th over. Kerr took the backseat while Halliday took charge of the run-scoring. Together they added 57 runs off 44 balls, giving New Zealand the momentum they desperately needed. The partnership was eventually broken by Chloe Tryon, but Maddy Green came in and her 12-run cameo (six balls) boosted the total to 158 for the loss of 5 wickets in 20 overs.
New Zealand make no mistakes
No team in the history of the T20 Women’s World Cup had successfully chased over 150 in a final. If South Africa had pulled it off, it would have been historic.
Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits laid a solid foundation, scoring 47 runs in the first 6 overs. But Devine inspired her troops to make a comeback in the game. The Proteas failed to build any substantial partnerships for the remainder of the game, with only three partnerships reaching double digits, the highest of them being just 20 runs.
The Kiwis kept taking wicket after wicket with no respite for South Africa. Devine’s spin attack dismantled most of Proteas' top order. With regular wickets, the run rate began to soar and ultimately South Africa crumbled under pressure.
Amelia Kerr and Rosemary Mair finished the game with bowling figures of 3/24 and 3/25 respectively and drove New Zealand to their first title win. For Devine and Bates, beaten in both the 2009 and 2010 finals, it was third time lucky.
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