The South African women’s team led by skipper Laura Wolvaardt stunned the defending champions Australia led by stand-in skipper Tahlia McGrath in an 8-wicket win to knock them out of the tournament in the 1st semi-final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The Proteas women sealed their 2nd consecutive appearance in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final.
New Zealand led by skipper Sophie Devine finished 2nd on the points table in Group A with 6 points from 4 games, losing their only game in the league stages to Australia. On the other hand, the West Indian women’s team led by skipper Hayley Matthews finished on the top of the points table in Group B with 6 points from 4 games and their only defeat in the league stages came against England.
New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine won the toss and opted to bat first in the 2nd semi-final at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The New Zealand openers Georgia Plimmer and Suzie Bates got their side off to a good start with a 48-run opening partnership. Karishma Ramharack cleaned up Suzie Bates to provide the first breakthrough for the West Indies.
New Zealand lost a couple of wickets in quick succession to bring West Indies firmly back into the contest. Brooke Halliday joined skipper Sophie Devine at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 27-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side closer to the 100-run mark. Deandra Dottin cleaned up Brooke Halliday to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side.
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New Zealand kept losing wickets at regular intervals and as a result, they were restricted to 128/9 in their quota of 20 overs. The White Ferns lost their last five wickets for just 32 runs. Georgia Plimmer (33 off 31 balls), Suzie Bates (26 off 28 balls), wicket-keeper batter Isabella Gaze (20* off 14 balls), and Brooke Halliday (18 off 9 balls) were the top performers with the bat for New Zealand.
Deandra Dottin (4-0-22-4), Afy Fletcher (3-0-23-2), Chenille Henry (4-0-24-0), and Aaliyah Alleyne (4-0-31-1) were the top performers with the ball for the West Indies. Chasing a target of 129, the West Indies openers Qiana Joseph and skipper Hayley Matthews got their side off to a steady start with a 16-run opening partnership. Eden Carson cleaned up Qiana Joseph to provide the first breakthrough for New Zealand.
Wicket-keeper batter Shemaine Campbelle soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 2nd breakthrough for New Zealand. Stafanie Taylor joined skipper Hayley Matthews at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 21-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side closer to the 50-run mark. Eden Carson returned and cleaned up Stafanie Taylor to provide the 3rd breakthrough for her side.
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— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 18, 2024
West Indies lost a couple of wickets in quick succession to bring New Zealand firmly back into the contest. Afy Fletcher joined Deandra Dottin at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 33-run partnership for the 6th wicket to take their side closer to the 100-run mark. Amelia Kerr picked up the big wicket of Deandra Dottin who was threatening to snatch the game away with her power-hitting prowess. The experienced leg-spinner and the vice-captain of the side provided the potential game-changing moment of the 2nd semi-final.
West Indies were eventually restricted to 120/8 in their quota of overs, falling short of the target by 8 runs. Deandra Dottin (33 off 22 balls), Afy Fletcher (17* off 15 balls), skipper Hayley Matthews (15 off 21 balls), and Zaida James (14 off 8 balls) were the top performers with the bat for the West Indies. Eden Carson (4-0-29-3), Amelia Kerr (4-0-14-2), Rosemary Mair (4-0-16-0), and Fran Jonas (4-0-21-1), were the top performers with the ball for New Zealand.
The young 23-year-old off-spinner Eden Carson was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant match-winning spell of 4-0-29-3. She along with the other White Ferns bowlers played a crucial role in helping their side seal a spot to their 3rd appearance in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final, having last made it to the final in the years 2009 and 2010.
The White Ferns led by skipper Sophie Devine, in her last game as the skipper of New Zealand in the T20I format, will be up against South Africa led by skipper Laura Wolvaardt who made it to their 2nd consecutive appearance in the final. Both sides will be battling it out in the historic title clash as we are all set to crown a new ICC Women’s T20 World Cup winner on the 20th of October 2024 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
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