Women's T20 World Cup 2024: Final, South Africa vs New Zealand - Key players to watch

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 is set for the final where South Africa Women and New Zealand Women will face each other at Dubai International Cricket Stadium (Dubai) on Sunday evening. 

Both South Africa Women and New Zealand Women ended their group stage in the second position of their respective groups after earning six points each. In the group stage, South Africa Women lost against England Women, and New Zealand Women lost against Australia Women, and both won their other three fixtures.

In the semi-finals of the tournament, South Africa Women claimed a dominant win against six-time champions Australia Women by eight wickets, and New Zealand Women secured an eight-run victory against West Indies Women in the last-over thriller. 

Now, we are ready to see a new champion of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. New Zealand Women lost finals in the first two editions of the tournament, and South Africa Women lost the 2023 edition final. 

New Zealand Women

Amelia Kerr is playing a huge role, especially with the ball. She has a big influence on New Zealand Women’s successes in this tournament. Among the batters, Georgia Plimmer has performed with discipline. 

Amelia Kerr: Leg-spinner Amelia Kerr is the leading wicket-taker in this tournament with 12 wickets, including four wickets against Australia Women and three wickets against Pakistan Women. She is busy as an all-rounder in this tournament, as she played two important innings as a batter by scoring 29 and 34 not out against Australia Women and Sri Lanka Women, respectively. Kerr can win the Player of the Tournament award for her consistently valuable performances. 

Eden Carson: The off-spinner Eden Carson has taken eight wickets in this tournament. In the last two matches, she won the Player of the Match awards for taking two and three wickets, respectively. In the semi-final against West Indies Women, she provided a good start with the ball for the White Ferns. 

Georgia Plimmer: In this tournament, the right-handed batter Georgia Plimmer impressed highly. After scoring 34 against India Women, she scored 53 against Sri Lanka Women, and 33 in the semi-final against West Indies Women. Plimmer won the Player of the Match award against Sri Lanka Women for her match-winning half-century. 

Sophie Devine: New Zealand Women’s captain Sophie Devine started the tournament with a Player of the Match award for a crucial 57 not out. However, in the next games, she scored 7, 13 not out, 19, and 12 runs, respectively.  

Rosemary Mair: The right-arm medium pacer Rosemary Mair has taken seven wickets in this competition. She took four wickets against India Women and two wickets against Australia Women. 

South Africa Women

South Africa Women's top orders are in great form. While Marizanne Kapp is influencing with her all-round performances, Nonkululeko Mlaba is a consistent performer among the bowlers.  

Laura Wolvaardt: Captain Laura Wolvaardt is the leading run-scorer in the ongoing tournament with 190 runs (average 47.50). She scored 59 not out, 42, 40, and 7 runs in the group stage before scoring 42 runs in the semi-final against Australia Women. 

Tazmin Brits: Tazmin Brits is the second-most run-scorer in this competition with 170 runs (average 42.50). She scored 57 not out against West Indies Women in their tournament opener, then the opener scored back-to-back 40s against Scotland Women (43) and Bangladesh Women (42). She won the Player of the Match award against Bangladesh Women. 

Marizanne Kapp: All-rounder Marizanne Kapp is an important name on this team. She has taken five wickets and scored 82 runs with an incredible strike rate of 151.85. She won the Player of the Match against Scotland Women for scoring 43 runs off 24 balls. 

Nonkululeko Mlaba: The left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba has picked up 10 wickets in this competition. Her four-wicket haul against West Indies Women secured the Player of the Match award, and she also took three wickets against Scotland Women. 

Anneke Bosch: After struggling the entire group stage, where her highest score was 25 against Bangladesh Women, she stormed in the crucial semi-final against Australia Women, where she scored the match-winning 74 not out off 48 balls. She won the Player of the Match award which will be remembered forever.