New Zealand defeats South Africa to win 2024 women's T20 cricket world cup
Thursday, October 24, 2024
On October 20, New Zealand won the 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup, defeating South Africa by 32 runs in the tournament's final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. This marked the ninth edition of the tournament and New Zealand's first Women's T20 World Cup title.
South Africa won the toss and chose to field first. New Zealand, batting first, posted a total of 158 runs for the loss of five wickets. Amelia Kerr was the top scorer with 43 runs, while Brooke Halliday contributed 38 runs. Nonkululeko Mlaba was the most successful bowler for South Africa, taking two wickets.
In their chase, South Africa struggled to keep up with the required run rate, managing 126 runs for the loss of nine wickets. Laura Wolvaardt, the South African captain, scored 33 runs from 27 balls, but the team could not reach the target. For New Zealand, both Amelia Kerr and Rosemary Mair took three wickets each.
Amelia Kerr was named both Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament for her all-round performance with both bat and ball.
After the match, South African captain Laura Wolvaardt commented, "We had a really good semi-final, the focus was to reset, but we didn't nail our cricket today." New Zealand's Amelia Kerr expressed her thoughts, saying, "I'm a little bit speechless and I'm just so stoked to get the win after all the team has been through."
Sources
[edit]- Neelav Chakravarti. "South Africa vs New Zealand Highlights Women's T20 World Cup 2024 final: Mair, Kerr shine as NZ beat SA by 32 runs" — Hindustan Times, October 20, 2024
- Tanya Aldred. "New Zealand beat South Africa to win Women's T20 Cricket World Cup final – as it happened" — The Guardian, October 20, 2024
- "Brilliant all-rounder Melie Kerr named Aramco Player of the Tournament" — ICC, October 20, 2024
- "new zealand women vs south africa women final - score" — ESPN, October 20, 2024