NEW ZEALAND allrounder Amelia Kerr played a key role in her team's first Women's T20 World Cup win, leading them to a 32-run victory over South Africa in the final held in Dubai on Sunday.
Kerr, who was named both Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament, top-scored with 43 runs as New Zealand set a challenging total of 158-5 in their 20 overs.
The 24-year-old then contributed with the ball, taking 3-24, including the important wickets of Laura Wolvaardt and Anneke Bosch, helping to limit South Africa to 126-9 in their 20 overs.
New Zealand captain Sophie Devine praised Kerr's performance, saying, "We all know she is a once-in-a-generation player. What she was able to do tonight was incredible. Physically, to do what she did with the bat... I think she can't feel her legs. She is not a bad cricketer, but the person that she is, the world is her oyster."
The win marked a significant moment for Devine as well, rounding off her career with a World Cup triumph.
New Zealand's victory came 14 years after narrowly losing to Australia in the 2010 final. They had also been defeated by England in the 2009 championship match. This title was particularly remarkable given the team's poor form leading up to the tournament, having lost 10 consecutive T20 internationals.
Reflecting on the turnaround, Devine said, "I started to dream last night about what it feels like to hold the trophy with this team. The great thing about this group is we know what we have been trying to achieve in the last 15, 18, 24 months. We kept taking steps in the right direction, and we came to the World Cup on the back of 10 successive losses. But everyone starts on zero."
For South Africa, who had convincingly beaten Australia in the semi-final, the defeat marked another final disappointment after losing to Australia in last year's Cape Town final. Skipper Wolvaardt said, "Our focus was just to reset, not get too ahead of ourselves. We knew we still had a quality opponent in New Zealand, and we just didn't play our best cricket tonight."
New Zealand's aggressive approach with the bat saw Suzie Bates make a quick 32 in her 334th international match. When Devine was dismissed by Nadine de Klerk on review, the innings seemed to stall. However, Brooke Halliday's arrival steadied the innings, as she added 57 runs in partnership with Kerr for the fourth wicket.
Halliday was eventually dismissed for 38, while Kerr added back-to-back boundaries before falling for 43 from 38 balls. Maddy Green closed out the innings with a quick 12 off six balls, including the only six of the innings.
In reply, South Africa got off to a fast start with Wolvaardt (33) and Brits (17) bringing up 50 runs by the seventh over. However, the fall of three quick wickets shifted momentum in New Zealand's favour. Kerr dismissed both Wolvaardt and Bosch in her second over, reducing South Africa to 64-3.
South Africa’s middle and lower order struggled as New Zealand's bowlers kept up the pressure. Kerr took a catch to dismiss Nadine de Klerk and claimed a third wicket when Bates took her third catch of the innings to remove Annerie Dercksen. Kerr ended the tournament as the leading wicket-taker with 15 wickets.
Fast bowler Rosemary Mair contributed with 3-25 as South Africa's tail collapsed. Though the last pair managed to bat out the final over, New Zealand secured their first Women's T20 World Cup title.
The victory came on a significant day for New Zealand cricket, as earlier in the day, the men's team clinched a historic Test win in India, their first in 36 years.
(With inputs from AFP)
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