New Delhi: New Zealand ended a 15-year-long wait to lift their first-ever Women’s T20 World Cup as they were crowned champions of the 2024 edition that concluded in Dubai on Sunday. New Zealand, who ended up as the runners-up of the inaugural event back in 2009, beat South Africa by 32 runs and etched their name in the history books and on the ICC silverware as well. South Africa were to chase 159 runs but were restricted to 126/9 by a brilliant Kiwi side.
Opting to bowl first, South Africa weren’t able to take hold of the New Zealand batters who contributed decently to put up a score of 158/5 in 20 overs. The target was daunting as the whole tournament hardly saw any team posting above 130 due to the worn-out pitch conditions of the UAE. Chasing a challenging target, South Africa Women once looked on track for the chase but soon started collapsing after the ninth over.
What a win! 🎉
The White Ferns are the Women’s #T20WorldCup 2024 champions 🤩#WhateverItTakes | #SAvNZ 📝: pic.twitter.com/sAcRKAESWB
— ICC (@ICC) October 20, 2024
It is noteworthy that the Proteas lost eight wickets under 10 overs as the Kiwi bowlers wreaked havoc. Amelia Kerr and Rosemary Mair picked three wickets each, being the pick of the bowlers but it all waited for the winning moment. Some of the Kiwi players who were in the dugout, were on the edge of their seats as they waited to run into the ground to celebrate their giant triumph.
Eden Carson was bowling the final over of the South African innings and it was already a lost cause for them as they required 38 runs to win. Carson bowled a wide yorker final delivery and Nonkululeko Mlaba wasn’t anywhere near to the ball. This sent the on-field New Zealand players into a frenzy as they were joined in by the running Kiwi players from the boundary ropes.
Watch NZ’s winning moment here –
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Meanwhile, scenes were totally contrasting in the South African dugout as the players were left disappointed and consoled each other, having endured a heartbreaking loss. They looked like a team to be reckoned with throughout the whole tournament just like their men’s team at the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. For South Africa, both their men’s and women’s team featured in T20 WC final same year (2024) but the result didn’t go their way both times.
Watch a heartbreaking South African team –
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Amelia Kerr – the star
Amelia Kerr, fondly known as “Melie” Kerr, was adjudged the Player of the Match for his all-round heroics as she scored a crucial 43(38) with the bat and registered figures of 4-0-24-3 with the ball. Her triple strike in the summit clash took her wicket tally of the prestigious tournament to 15 – the most by any player in a single Women’s T20 World Cup edition. She scored 135 runs in the whole tournament in the six games that she played, bagging the Player of the Tournament award as well.
Most wickets (15) in a single Women’s #T20WorldCup edition ✅
135 runs with the bat ✅A tournament to remember for the @aramco POTT winner Melia Kerr 🌟 #WhateverItTakes pic.twitter.com/MZoY8mOVaQ
— ICC (@ICC) October 20, 2024
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