New Zealand reach T20 World Cup final after 14 years

New Zealand women continued their uplifting campaign at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 as they defeated the West Indies by eight runs in the tournament's second semifinal on October 18 (Friday). 

Off-spinner Eden Carson was the star of the show for the White Ferns, as she picked up three wickets for 29 runs, dismissing the trio of Qiana Joseph, Shemaine Campbelle and Stafanie Taylor. Leggie Melie Kerr supported her brilliantly, getting two wickets for just 14 runs in her four overs, which included the prized scalp of Deandra Dottin. 

Earlier, Sophie Devine won the toss and elected to bat first in Sharjah. However, West Indian bowlers bowled well to control the scoring rate throughout the game, restricting New Zealand to 128/9. 

Dottin, besides being the biggest hope for her team with the bat (33 off 22), was also the best bowler of the day, as she picked up four wickets for 22 runs. It was also her fourth four-fer in T20 World Cups, which is the most for any bowler in the tournament’s history. 

New Zealand will now face South Africa in the World Cup final on October 20. The Proteas defeated defending champions Australia by eight wickets to reach the final. Interestingly, neither team has won the tournament yet (even their men’s side), so the T20 World Cup will have a new champion in 2024. 

Notably, this will be the second consecutive T20 World Cup final for South Africa as they also reached the final of the 2023 T20 World Cup, where Australia defeated them in the final. Meanwhile, New Zealand have made the final of the tournament after 14 years. 

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