New Zealand Clinch Maiden Women's T20 World Cup
Photo : T20 World Cup - X
New Zealand scripted history on Sunday, 20th October as the Sophie Devine-led side clinched their maiden Women's T20 World Cup title after beating South Africa by 32 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.
This was the Kiwis' third-ever final of the showpiece event and after two successful attempts, they finally have their hand on the coveted trophy. Brooke Halliday (38), Amelia Kerr (43) and Suzie Bates (32) played important knocks to guide the team to a 158-run score.
In reply, the Proteas could manage 129 runs with the loss of 9 wickets. Kerr also contributed with the ball, by picking up a 3-fer. This was South Africa's second successive final in the T20 World Cup and once again they had to go home empty-handed.
Apart for Kerr, Rosemary Mair also hogged limelight with figures of 4-25-3. The only silver-lining in the South Africa batting was Laura Wolvaardt as she emerged as the highest run-getter with 33 runs. Other than her, no one really got going as they failed to cope up with the onslaught from the New Zealand bowlers.
The 24-year old Amerlia Kerr, who ended up as the top wicket-taker of the tournament with 12 scalps, earned the Player Of The Match award for her all-round contributions.
Mair was over the moon, following the World Cup triumph and credited the seniors for the historic win.
''Pretty Unbelievable to be honest. Coming into the World Cup, all the odds were against it and to win the World Cup is pretty unbelievable. The batters put up a fantastic total for us to defend and to pull them back from overs 6 to 10 was special. We care so much for each other, We've been through a lot of lows in the last 18 months but we've stuck by each other, they are pretty old, having made the last final 14 years ago, pretty proud of the old gals'', she told after the match.
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