DUBAI: Amelia Kerr’s outstanding all-around performance helped New Zealand win the Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time, defeating South Africa by a commanding 32 runs in the final on Sunday in Dubai.
Kerr won the game with 43 runs, leading a New Zealand team that scored 158-5 in 20 overs to restrict South Africa to 126-9 in 20 overs with 3-24 runs and the crucial wickets of Laura Wolvaardt and Anneke Bosch.
It denoted a sweet completion to captain Sophie Devine’s profession.
The triumph came 14 years after the White Plants lost to Australia by only three runs in the 2010 last. They also lost the 2009 championship match to England.
For South Africa it made for a twofold dissatisfaction having lost last year’s last to Australia in Cape Town.
Subsequent to being placed in to bat by South Africa skipper Wolvaardt, the New Zealand openers started forcefully with Georgia Plimmer crushing two fours in the first over from Marizanne Kapp.
Suzie Bates, playing in her 334th international, kept the scoreboard ticking over until she was bowled by Nonkululeko Mlaba for 32 from 31 balls. Plimmer fell for nine, but Bates kept the scoreboard ticking over.
The innings appeared to be faltering when Devine was leg before to Nadine de Klerk on review, but Brooke Halliday arrived and added 57 runs in seven overs with Kerr for the fourth wicket.
Halliday hit three limits in her 38 however was excused when she chose Bosch on the midwicket limit.
Before finding Tazmin Brits, Kerr hit two boundaries off Mlaba before falling for 43 from 38 balls.
Maddy Green, on the other hand, kept the momentum going with 12 from six balls, the only six of the innings.
Wolvaardt (33 runs) and Brits (17 runs) got South Africa off to a flying start, scoring 50 runs in the seventh over. Brits then tried to hit Fran Jonas over long-on, but Green was waiting in the safe hands.
Wolvaardt showed her anger by sending the first ball of Kerr’s second over to Bates at wide mid-off as Bosch struggled to get going.
South Africa had fallen to 64-3 and New Zealand were in charge when a review revealed that Bosch had edged Isabella Gaze with the final ball of the over.
With the necessary run rate increasing, South Africa’s center and lower request, who have scarcely batted in this competition, attempted to kick off wickets tumbling at normal spans.
Kerr took a catch to eliminate Nadine de Klerk and afterward guaranteed a third wicket when Bates, seemingly the remarkable defender at the competition, took her third catch of the innings to eliminate Annerie Dercksen. She won the tournament with a record-setting 15 wickets.
The final two teams held out for the last over, but they were unable to stop New Zealand from celebrating their first title.
New Zealand’s scoreboard:
S. Bates b Mlaba 32
G. Plimmer c Luus b Khaka 9
A. Kerr c Brits b Mlaba 43
S. Devine lbw b de Klerk 6
B. Halliday c Bosch b Tryon 38
M. Green not out 12
I. Look not out 3
Additional items (LB-2, NB-3, W-10) 15
Complete (for five wickets, 20 overs) 158
Didn’t BAT: F. Jonas, R. Mair, L. Tahuhu, and E. Carson FALL OF WICKETS: 1-16 (Plimmer), 2-53 (Bates), 3-70 (Devine), 4-127 (Halliday), 5-141 (Kerr)
BOWLING: Kapp 4-0-25-0 (1w, 2nb), Khaka 4-0-44-1 (1w), Tryon 4-0-22-1 (1w), Mlaba 4-0-31-2 (3w), De Klerk 2-0-17-1 (1nb), Luus 2-0-17-0
SOUTH AFRICA:
L. Wolvaardt catches Bates at number 33; T. Brits catches Jonas at number 17; A. Bosch catches Gaze at number 9; M. Kapp catches Plimmer at number 8; N. De Klerk catches Kerr at number 6; C. Tryon catches Mair at number 14; S. Luus catches Bates at number 8; A. Dercksen catches Bates at number 10; S. Jafta catches Mair 1-51 for Brits, 2-59 for Wolvaardt, 3-64 for Bosch, 4-77 for Kapp, 5-77 for De Klerk, 6-97 for Luus, 7-111 for Dercksen, 8-117-8 for Tryon, and 9-120 for Jafta Mair 4-0-25-3 (3w), Carson 4-0-22-1, Jonas 4-0-28-1 (1w), Tahuhu 3-0-21-0, Kerr 4-0-24-3, Halliday 1-0-4-1 (1w)
RESULT: New Zealand won by 32 runs.
