The women’s cricket team from New Zealand defeated South Africa by 32 runs in a thrilling final in Dubai on Sunday night to win their first-ever ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

After being invited to bat first, New Zealand amassed 158/5 in their 20 overs, led by scores of 43 off 38 balls from Amelia Kerr and 38 off 28 balls from Brooke Halliday, who helped the team to a competitive total.

In their 20 overs, South Africa could only muster 126/9 in their attempt to chase 159 and win the World Cup.

South Africa has now lost the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final twice in a row. They had suffered a defeat at the hands of Australia in the last World Cup.

In addition, this was South Africa’s second defeat in the T20 World Cup this year; in June 2024, India defeated the South African men’s squad in the Men’s T20 World Cup final

After a strong start that saw her side reach 47/0 in the first six overs thanks to the efforts of skipper Laura Wolvaardt (33 off 27 balls), South Africa seemed to be in complete control.

After Wolvaardt was eliminated, semifinal hero Anneke Bosch also struggled to get going, and South Africa was again let down.

The South African hitters, unable to keep up with the run rate and giving in to pressure, were choked by the New Zealand bowlers who kept it tight in the middle overs.

Along with being a standout batsman, Amelia Kerr also excelled at leg-spin bowling, coming with figures of 3/24 in her four overs.

Despite entering the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup having lost ten straight games, New Zealand set a record at the conclusion of the competition.

The women’s team’s victory on Sunday was the culmination to a fantastic Sunday for New Zealand, since the men’s cricket team had only hours earlier won a Test match in India after more than 35 years.