An astonishing display by Amelia Kerr pushed New Zealand to their inaugural Women's T20 World Cup 2024 title as they defeated South Africa by a decisive 32 runs in the final held in Dubai on Sunday, 20th October 2024.  Well-known player of the Match, Amelia led the scoring with 43 runs, helping New Zealand reach a total of 158-5 in 20 overs. Later in the match, she also took three wickets in her four overs for 24 runs, including the wickets of Laura Wolvaardt and Anneke Bosch. This helped in limiting South Africa to 126-9 in their 20 overs. This victory was a fitting conclusion to skipper Sophie Devine's career. The win came 14 years after the White Ferns narrowly lost to Australia by just three runs in the 2010 final. They had also been defeated by England in the 2009 championship match. For South Africa, it was especially disheartening as they had lost last year's final to Australia in Cape Town.

Sophie Devine- A True Leader

Sophie Devine transitioned from being a bowler who often batted at No. 11 to becoming one of the top all-rounders and most explosive batters in the sport. In early 2020, she made history as the first player, regardless of gender, to achieve five consecutive T20 half-centuries, a streak she extended to six at the start of the 2020 T20 World Cup, where she also led New Zealand as captain. Early in her international career, particularly in T20Is, she showcased her batting potential. She came close to forcing a Super Over in the 2010 T20 World Cup final when a powerful straight drive hit Ellyse Perry’s foot, allowing Australia to claim victory. Devine had a hiatus from ODIs between July 2010 and February 2013, but her return to the World Cup marked a turning point, highlighted by a dominant 145 against South Africa in New Zealand's first match. It wasn’t until four years later that she scored her next ODI century, this time against Pakistan in 2017, and she went on to achieve four centuries in just 10 innings.

In T20 cricket, her elevation to open the batting in 2017 elevated her game significantly, culminating in a record-breaking run of scores that included her first century against South Africa. By mid-2020, she was officially appointed as the permanent captain of New Zealand, stepping up when Amy Satterthwaite took maternity leave to welcome her first child. On the domestic front, she excelled as an all-rounder for the Adelaide Strikers in the WBBL before moving to the Perth Scorchers. Sophie Devine attributed New Zealand's enhanced performance against India as a key factor in their successful World Cup campaign.

As her last task as captain of the women’s team, Sophie Devine guided New Zealand to their first T20 World Cup triumph, defeating South Africa in Dubai to claim the trophy. This victory came as a surprise, as the final was unexpected. For New Zealand, it was particularly significant, as they achieved a series of wins after entering the tournament with a 10-match losing streak in T20s.

Sophie says, “It's really hard to pinpoint one moment or one game. Probably most recently is that India game though. I think that was probably the most complete performance we've had since the World Cup in South Africa in 2023 and everything did come together; as I said, it showed that belief and confidence in this group and to put it together and to know that we could do it.”

New Zealand started their World Cup journey with a commanding win against India in their first match, overpowering one of the anticipated favorites to progress to the knockout stages. They secured a significant victory by 58 runs, having amassed 160 runs in their initial innings, and then bowled out Harmanpreet Kaur's squad for just 102 runs.

A Glimpse of Match Against West Indies 

New Zealand Women have triumphed over West Indies Women in the semifinal, securing their spot in the finals. Georgia Plimmer is the leading run-scorer for New Zealand Women in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, amassing 141 runs. The highest wicket-taker for New Zealand Women in the same tournament is Amelia Kerr, who has taken 12 wickets.

In the first semifinal, New Zealand Women batted first and set a score of 128 for nine in 20 overs. Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer provided an impressive opening, contributing 48 runs for the first wicket partnership. Brooke Halliday and Izzy Haze also made valuable contributions, scoring 18 and 20 runs, respectively, helping New Zealand Women reach a solid total of 128 in their 20 overs. For West Indies Women, Deandra Dottin was standout with four wickets for 22 runs.

In the pursuit, the West Indies Women found themselves in a precarious position, losing four wickets for just 51 runs by the 9th over. Deandra Dottin made a valiant effort to energize the team with a quickfire 33 runs off 22 deliveries, but the target proved to be too high for the batting order below her. Eden Carson claimed three wickets as the West Indies Women were limited to a total of 120, resulting in an 8-run loss in the match.

"India Set the Tone for Us" - Sophie Devine

“I think it was a massive moment for us and helped us on our journey to being here tonight with this in front of us. It's so hard to pinpoint because there's so much that goes into it. I mean, everyone thinks about the games, but it's the work that goes on behind the scenes that a lot of people don't see. But yeah, I think if you're talking about performances, that India one probably set the tone for us," says Sophie.

New Zealand only lost one match in this tournament against Australia. While that was a heavy loss, they bounced back well to beat Pakistan and seal qualification to the semifinals, where they once again managed to spark an upset by triumphing over 2016 T20 World Cup champs West Indies.

 

The Story of the First Innings

Captain Wolvaardt of South Africa won the toss and chose to bowl first against New Zealand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Both teams remained the same, while White Ferns leader Sophie Devine expressed satisfaction with the toss result, noting she would have opted to bat first regardless. Her top order demonstrated their capability by giving the Kiwis a solid start during the powerplay. Georgia Plimmer's aggressive beginning was cut short when Sune Luus took a catch off Ayabonga Khaka's bowling, dismissing the young opener for nine runs off seven balls.