 "Laura Wolvaardt and Sophie Devine, captain of South Africa and New Zealand respectively, pose with the ICC Women's T20 World Cup trophy in front of the Museum of Futures in Dubai, UAE. Image credit: ICC")
The ninth edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is set for an exciting conclusion a little over 12 hours from now with South Africa facing New Zealand in the grand finale in Dubai on Sunday. Both teams had finished second in their respective groups, losing one game each – South Africa against England and New Zealand against Trans-Tasman rivals Australia.
What matters, however, is the fact that the two teams managed to get their act together in the semi-finals and keep their hopes for a maiden title alive. South Africa sent the cricketing world into a shock by handing six-time champions Australia an eight-wicket defeat in the first semi-final in Dubai, thanks to Anneke Bosch’s blistering 74 not out off just 46 deliveries and seamer Ayabonga Khaka’s 2/24.
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New Zealand’s victory over West Indies in the second semi-final in Sharjah couldn’t have been in greater contrast to that of the Proteas. The White Ferns prevailed over the 2016 champions by just 8 runs despite posting a modest 128/9 on the board, with senior all-rounder Deandra Dottin’s all-round display (4/22 and 33 off 22 balls) went in vain.
Before the final gets underway on Sunday evening, we take a look at some interesting facts pertaining to the South Africa vs New Zealand showdown:
Tournament set to get a new champion
Both South Africa and New Zealand are yet to get the silverware in their possession despite having reached the final before. The Kiwis have been there twice, losing to England in the inaugural edition in 2009 at the Lord’s and against Australia at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados the following year.
South Africa had suffered a heartbreak at the hands of Meg Lanning’s Aussies in Cape Town last year after reaching the final of an ICC event for the first time ever, and managed to avenge that defeat on Thursday by knocking the defending champions out and making it to back-to-back finals.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsRegardless of who wins Sunday’s grand showdown, one thing’s for certain – the tournament will have a new champion after Australia, England and West Indies.
New Zealand reach their first ICC final in 14 years
While South Africa have now made it to back-to-back T20 World Cup finals in consecutive years, New Zealand have made it to the final of an ICC event for the first time in 14 years. The last time the White Ferns had qualified for a World Cup final – either in the ODI or the T20I format – was back in 2010 in which they lost to Australia by just three runs in a low-scoring thriller.
Their last appearance in the final of the 50-over World Cup, in which they won their only title in 2000, was back in 2009 against England in Sydney. The only time New Zealand managed to reach the semi-finals of either the ODI or the T20 World Cups was in the 2012 and 2016 versions of the latter, where losing to England and West Indies respectively.
Australia not in the final for the first time in 15 years
Sunday’s showdown will also be only the second Women’s T20 World Cup final to not feature Australia as one of the teams. The only other time the Southern Stars had failed to reach the summit clash was in the inaugural edition in 2009, when they had suffered an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of arch-rivals England in the second semi-final at The Oval.
Australia would make it to the final of every subsequent edition until last year, including in 2016 in which they lost to West Indies by 8 wickets at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.
Read | Australia’s Women’s T20 World Cup dominance ends: Southern Stars’ dominating run in numbers
The Aussies, in fact, are so used to being part of a World Cup final that only failed to reach this stage of the tournament in either format only five times since the 50-over World Cup made its debut in 1973 – thrice in the ODI format (1993, 2009 and 2017) and twice in T20 (2009 and 2024).
First-ever World Cup final to not feature either Australia or England
Here’s the most interesting bit about Sunday’s epic contest – it will be first ever World Cup final in either format since the first-ever ODI World Cup in 1973 to not feature either Australia or England as one of the finalists. That gives one a fair idea as to how much these two teams have dominated women’s cricket for decades now, with teams such as West Indies, India and South Africa starting to make their presence felt in the last couple of decades.
The only other team that comes close to Australia and England’s record when it comes to appearances in World Cup finals is New Zealand. The White Ferns have made it to four ODI World Cup finals, one of which ended in a victory, along with three in the T20 format, including Sunday’s final against South Africa.
A final without a team from the top three in the ICC rankings
The South Africa vs New Zealand contest is also an aberration in the sense that the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will not have a team ranked in the top three in the ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings.
The current top three has Australia leading the table followed by England and India. While the Aussies were shown the exit sign by South Africa on Thursday, both India and England narrowly missed out on the semi-finals with defeats in their final group matches, resulting in third-place finishes in Group A and B respectively.