New Zealand won their first-ever Women’s T20 World Cup by beating South Africa in the finals. As soon as the last ball was bowled, Sophie Devine the Kiwi skipper was seen breaking down and hugging her teammate. Kiwis won the game by 32 runs to take the title home for the first time.
The New Zealand team batted first after South Africa won the toss. The Kiwi side scored 158 from their 20 overs. Amelia Kerr led the batting charts with 43 runs from 38 balls with 4 boundaries. Brooke Halliday was the next best scorer with 38 runs and Suzie Bates contributed with 32.
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It is to be noted that the Kiwis came into the tournament having lost 10 T20 games in a row. In their very first match of the tournament, they beat India by a massive margin of 58 runs. In the semi-final, they beat West Indies to make it to the finals. For South Africa, the game on Sunday was their 2nd successive loss in the finals after losing the 2023 championship game to Australia.
New Zealand skipper shares her delight after landmark win
Needing 159 to win, South Africa began well as the opening pair of skipper Laura Wolvaardt and Tanzim Brits added 51 runs. The opening stand came in 6.5 overs before the Brits were out for 17 to Fran Jones. Skipper Wolvaardt was the best batter with 33 before the wheels came off and the Proteas lost their way.
Skipper Sophie Devine said at the end of the game, “Think once I get my hands around that trophy. I let myself dream last night about what it would be like to hold the trophy. Didn't want to get too far ahead of myself. Hard to put into words what it means, not just to me but to this group of players. And for New Zealand Cricket as well. It's been a long time between drinks. The great thing about this group is we've known what we've been trying to achieve the last 18 months. Results haven't gone in our favour but we know we've been building in the right direction.”
South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt said, “Didn't play our best cricket tonight. They really came at us hard in the powerplay. At first, we thought we could ride the wave a bit with a few wickets here and there. But they just kept going. Probably let them score a bit too many. I don't know (lessons?). Will have to have a good reflection on what really happened.”
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