New Zealand's golden generation, led by inspirational Sophie Devine, will have one last chance to lay hands on a global ICC trophy when it meets a gritty South Africa in the summit clash of the T20 World Cup which is set to throw a new champion, here Sunday.
New Zealand's women's team had won the ODI World Cup back in 2000 but none of the current squad members were part of that historic title triumph.
Before this event began, New Zealand were in the trenches having lost 10 matches on the trot in the format but under Devine this bunch, comprising of the venerable Suzie Bates and the assuring Amelia Kerr, has done wonders, bringing the side in contention for the ultimate prize.
It is most probably the last time the Black Shirts will have Devine, Bates and Lea Tahuhu playing of the national side in a global tournament.
Devine, 35, has more than 7000 runs under her belt in white-ball formats while the 37-year-old Bates has more than 10,000 runs to her name.
Pacer Tahuhu, 34, has 112 wickets in ODIs and 93 in T20Is.
They won't leave any stone unturned to ensure that they have a World Cup trophy in their cabinet.
South Africa on the other side will be equally determined to complete 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 had lost by a mere 19 runs in the close contest.
New Zealand have one or other player to rise the occasion in the tournament and in the semifinal against the West Indies, if they failed to set a target big enough to daunt the free-flowing Caribbean batters, their bowlers responded with tidy spells throughout the game to eke out a memorable win.
Kerr's wicket tally has swelled to 12 in the tournament as she found apt support from the other end in the likes of Eden Carson (8), Rosemary Mair (7) and the experienced Lea Tahuhu.
New Zealand announced their intentions with a big win against India first up and followed that up with consistent performances across departments.
A 60-run loss to Australia, arguably the strongest team in the competition, notwithstanding, the Kiwis weren’t unnerved as they went on to pip the West Indies in the final over of their low-scoring semifinal to make their third final.
When the tournament began towards the end of the first decade of this century, New Zealand appeared to be the team to beat as they made two consecutive finals but got pipped by England and Australia once each.
Bates and Devine, the survivors from those campaigns, will thus get a third crack in winning the first ICC trophy for New Zealand in white-ball cricket since 2000 when the men's team won the Champions Trophy in Kenya.
But against them will be the formidable South Africa who scripted history of sorts to have stopped the all-dominating Australian team from reaching their eighth consecutive final in the last 15 years and seven editions of the T20 World Cup.
If New Zealand has Kerr topping the charts for most successful bowlers, South Africa have two of their top-order batters — Laura Wolvaardt (190 runs) and Tazmin Brits (170 runs) — lodged at the top of the batting charts in this tournament.
South Africa’s all-round might will pose the sternest challenge as the Proteas side is coming off a comprehensive eight-wicket thrashing of Australia, having restricted them to a mere 135/5 and knocked off the target with more than two overs to spare.
While a lot will depend on the pair of Wolvaardt and Brits at the top, SA will need the likes of Anneke Bosch and Marizanne Kapp to chip in with the bat too.
Similarly, Nonkululeko Mlaba (10 wickets) would also need the rest of the bowlers to replicate their performance from the semifinal, in which they collectively kept it tight to not allow Australia to get away with the bat.
Squads: New Zealand: Sophie Devine (captain), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Isabella Gaze (wk), Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea 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, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloe Tryon.
Time: 7:30PM
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