South Africa couldn’t overcome New Zealand in the final.
New Zealand had lost 10 consecutive matches before the tournament began, making their T20 championship a surprise for the entire world.
Having reached the finals in 2009 and 2010 but losing both, New Zealand secured their first T20 title. South Africa delivered a dominant performance in the first half of the match but couldn’t finish strong.
Although South Africa’s national team captain Laura guided them to 47-0 in the first over, it wasn’t enough. With this result, South Africa has now lost two consecutive finals. After surpassing the tournament favorites, the Proteas were eliminated by surprise contender New Zealand.
Players like Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates couldn’t hold back their tears of joy. South Africa, on the other hand, will surely prepare better for future tournaments after these two missed finals.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) introduced equal prize money for women and men this year. As a result, New Zealand will receive $2.34 million, while South Africa will earn $1.7 million after the match.
Player of the match, New Zealander Melie Kerr, made the following remarks after the game: “I’m a little bit speechless to be honest. To get the win considering what we have been through, it’s what dreams are made of.
“I was cramping up in the field, but it didn’t stop me bowling. I just want to keep getting better, I have never enjoyed bowling so much. It’s always nice to get the big players out; you want to be a big-match player and make a breakthrough.”
South Africa’s captain Laura Wolvaardt, on the other hand, gave the following statement to the media: “We had a quality opponent in New Zealand and didn’t play our best cricket tonight.
“They really came at us hard in that powerplay, we maybe thought we could ride that wave but they put too much pressure on us with the bat.”
New Zealand 158-5 (20 overs): Kerr 43 (38); Mlaba 2-31
South Africa 126-9 (20 overs): Wolvaardt 33 (27); Kerr 3-24, Mair 3-25
New Zealand won by 32 runs