Proteas chase in the World Cup Final; both teams remain unchanged

South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl first in the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. The coin fell in skipper Laura Wolvaardt’s favour, and she didn't hesitate one bit in chasing to win the cup that eluded them last time in 2023. 

Both sides have gone with the same eleven that played in the semi-final contests. 

South Africa would really look to change their fortunes this time around. They have already defeated Australia in the semifinal by eight wickets who stopped them one step short from the ultimate glory in front of their home crowd. Finally, they can change what went wrong the last time. It’s their date with destiny, after all. 

Meanwhile, New Zealand came to the tournament after winning almost nothing this entire year. However, they started with a spectacular 58-run victory over India that put all those doubts to rest at once. This wasn’t going to be a pushover team, and that’s how Sophie Devine and her women have played in the tournament so far, losing only against Australia. 

Whoever wins from here, it promises to be a great final, and the world will get a new winner of the Women’s T20 World Cup. The winner of the contest would be the first team (either men's or women's) to win the T20 World Cup for their nation

Playing XIs

South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt(c), Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Chloe Tryon, Marizanne Kapp, Sune Luus, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta(w), Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayabonga Khaka 

New Zealand: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine(c), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze(w), Rosemary Mair, Lea Tahuhu, Eden Carson, Fran Jonas 

What did the captains say

Laura Wolvaardt: We are going to have a bowl first. It worked really well for us in the tournament, and we are going to stick to that. It's a new venue, new opponents, and a new day, so we gotta work really hard. It's the same eleven. Credit to our medical staff as well for getting us on the pitch. 

Sophie Devine: We were gonna have a bat anyway, so it has worked out well for both teams. It looks like a good surface, and we want to put runs on the board in a final. We have really embraced those changes that come with being in the final, extra media attention and extra crowd and whatnot such an awesome opportunity and privilege to be here, so we are just soaking it all in. We are playing the same eleven. Tom and the boys did a fantastic job in India, first Test win over there for a wee while. We certainly take motivation from them and what they are capable of doing. 

Pitch Report

The temperature is hovering around 30 degrees in the Dubai International Stadium. The boundary dimensions for the day are 61 and 60 metres on the square side and 73 metres towards the straight boundary. It is a dry surface today, and in the last two games, there have been more boundaries scored in the powerplay of the second innings. The average score is 127, but because it is finals time, it will be 140

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