New Zealand’s golden generation, led by the inspirational Sophie Devine, will have one last chance to get their hands on an ICC global trophy when they meet tough South Africa in the summit clash of the T20 World Cup, which is set to usher in a new champion, here Sunday . The New Zealand women’s team won the ODI World Cup in 2000, but none of the current team members were part of that historic title triumph. Before this event began, New Zealand were in the trenches having lost 10 matches on the in-form trot, but under Devine’s guidance, this group consisting of the venerable Susie Bates and the confident Amelia Kerr did wonders, leading the country into contention for the final award.
This is most likely the last time the Black Shirts will have Devine, Bates and Leah Tahuhu playing for the national team at a world tournament.
Devine, 35, has more than 7,000 runs under her belt in white-ball formats, while Bates, 37, has more than 10,000 runs.
Pacer Tahuhu, 34, has 112 wickets in ODIs and 93 in T20Is.
They will leave no stone unturned to ensure they have a World Cup trophy in their cabinet.
South Africa on the other hand will be equally determined to finish the unfinished business as they had lost the 2023 World Cup final to Australia at home. They have an opportunity to erase painful memories as they lost by just 19 runs in the close contest.
New Zealand have one player or the other to boost their chances in the tournament and in the semi-final against the West Indies, if they failed to set themselves a big enough target to scare the free-flowing Caribbean bowlers, their bowlers responded with tidy spells throughout the match to win a memorable victory.
Kerr’s wicket tally rose to 12 in the tournament as she found suitable support from the other end in Eden Carson (8), Rosemary Mere (7) and the experienced Leah Tahuhu.
New Zealand announced their intentions with a big win first against India and followed that up with consistent performances in all departments.
Despite losing by 60 runs to Australia, arguably the strongest team in the competition, the Kiwis were undeterred as they beat West Indies in the final over their low-scoring semi-final to make their third final.
When the tournament began towards the end of the first decade of this century, New Zealand looked the team to beat as they made two consecutive finals but were beaten by England and Australia once each.
Bates and Devine, the survivors of those campaigns, will thus have their third success in winning New Zealand’s first ICC trophy in white-ball cricket since 2000, when the men’s team won the Champions Trophy in Kenya.
But up against them will be the formidable South Africa, who made a history of sorts to prevent a dominant all-Australian side from reaching their eighth consecutive final in the last 15 years and seven editions of the T20 World Cup.
If New Zealand’s Kerr tops the charts for the most successful bowlers, South Africa have two of their best batsmen – Laura Walward (190 runs) and Tazmin Britts (170 runs) – placed at the top of the batting charts in this tournament .
South Africa’s all-round power will pose the most serious challenge as the Proteas emerged from a comprehensive eight-wicket battle over Australia, restricting them to just 135/5 and beating the target with more than two overs to spare.
While much will depend on the pair of Wolvaardt and the Brits up top, SA will need the likes of Anneke Bosch and Marizanne Kapp to step up with the bat as well.
Likewise, Nonkululeko Mlaba (10 wickets) will also need the rest of the bowlers to replicate their performance from the semi-final where they collectively held firm to prevent Australia from getting away with the bat.
Squads:
New Zealand: Sophie Devine (capt), Susie Bates, Eden Carson, Isabella Gaze (wk), Maddie Green, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Lee Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Leah Tahuhu .
South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder (wk), Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Sune Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Seshnie Naidu, Find the Squirrel, Chloe Tryon.
Time: 19:30 IST.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated by a syndicated channel.)
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