New Zealand beat SA to win first T20 World Cup

Women's T20 World Cup final, Dubai

New Zealand 158-5 (20 overs): Kerr 43 (38); Mlaba 2-31

South Africa 126-9 (20 overs): Wolvaardt 33 (27); Kerr 3-24, Mair 3-25

New Zealand won by 32 runs

Scorecard

New Zealand were crowned astonishment champions of the Women's T20 World Cup with a broad 32-run triumph implicit South Africa successful Dubai.

The White Ferns had mislaid 10 successive matches coming into the tournament, and this is their archetypal T20 title, aft losing successive finals successful 2009 and 2010.

They were connected apical astatine the halfway point, but the Proteas started powerfully successful pursuit of 159 for victory, reaching 51-0 wrong 7 overs earlier slipping to 77-5 and past stuttering to 126-9.

Leg-spinner Melie Kerr finished with 3-24, becoming the tournament's starring wicket-taker, and seamer Rosemary Mair took 3-25 successful an affectional juncture for a squad with truthful small anticipation of triumph.

Kerr besides added a captious publication with the bat, scoring 43 from 38 balls successful a important concern of 57 with Brooke Halliday to acceptable up the White Ferns' imposing 158-5.

In a fluctuating innings, New Zealand dominated the powerplay with 43-1 earlier South Africa fought backmost successful the mediate overs which included a spell of 48 balls without a boundary.

But Halliday's 38 from 28 balls, alongside Maddy Green's six-ball 12, ensured New Zealand struck 48 from the last 5 overs to punish an yet wasteful bowling show from South Africa, who talented 10 wides and 3 no-balls.

Captain Laura Wolvaardt scored a fluent 33 astatine the apical of the bid arsenic South Africa besides capitalised connected the archetypal six overs, reaching 47-0, earlier New Zealand's rotation trio turned the screw, including the prized wicket of all-rounder Marizanne Kapp for conscionable eight.

The remainder of the batting bid past succumbed to the increasing run-rate unit arsenic opener Tazmin Brits' 17 was the second-highest score, with batters Anneke Bosch, Nadine de Klerk and Sune Luus each falling successful azygous figures alongside Kapp.

It is the 2nd twelvemonth moving that South Africa person mislaid the last arsenic New Zealand enactment successful a implicit show erstwhile it mattered the astir which resulted successful tears of joyousness for 2 of the sport's astir experienced campaigners successful Suzie Bates and skipper Sophie Devine.

In the archetypal twelvemonth that the International Cricket Council (ICC) introduced adjacent prize wealth for it's men's and women's tournaments, New Zealand volition instrumentality location $2.34 cardinal (£1.75m) with South Africa taking $1.7m (£878,000).

In a tourney that has been dominated by debased scores connected bowler-friendly surfaces, it was New Zealand's batting intent from the opening that was instantly eye-catching.

When opener Georgia Plimmer skipped down the transportation to Marizanne Kapp's 2nd shot - contempt missing - the connection was clear. They were not going to dice wondering.

Plimmer yet fell for 9 and Bates added 32, earlier Kerr and Devine were tasked with the rebuilding effort aft a small wobble to 53-2.

But erstwhile Devine was lbw to De Klerk for six successful the 11th over, determination was a information of New Zealand wasting their affirmative start, wherever they had played with specified state and recovered the bound regularly with small motion of immoderate big-occasion nerves.

Kerr held firm, steadily rotating the onslaught astatine a run-a-ball portion Halliday played much expansively astir her, perpetually pushing twos adjacent erstwhile the boundaries were not flowing. This kept the unit connected South Africa's bowlers, who were struggling for consistency for the archetypal clip successful the tournament.

After Halliday's departure, Kerr was rewarded for her patience arsenic she thumped back-to-back boundaries disconnected Nonkululeko Mlaba successful the penultimate over, earlier Ayabonga Khaka's fearfulness last implicit conceded 16 - including the game's lone six from Green - to enactment New Zealand firmly successful the driving seat.

The scoreboard unit did the remainder arsenic South Africa wilted, incapable to capitalise connected Wolvaardt's knock, with Kerr taking her tourney tally to 15 - a caller grounds successful a Women's T20 World Cup, beating England's Anya Shrubsole and Australian Megan Schutt's erstwhile grounds of 13.

New Zealand's elation was heartbreakingly juxtaposed by South Africa's despair, falling abbreviated astatine the last hurdle erstwhile much arsenic the country's agonising hold for a planetary cricket rubric - men's oregon women's - continues.

Player of the lucifer and tourney Melie Kerr: "I’m a small spot speechless to beryllium honest. To get the triumph considering what we person been through, it’s what dreams are made of.

"I was cramping up successful the field, but it didn’t halt maine bowling. I conscionable privation to support getting better, I person ne'er enjoyed bowling truthful much. It’s ever bully to get the large players out; you privation to beryllium a big-match subordinate and marque a breakthrough."

New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine: "I started to fto myself imagination a small spot past nighttime astir what it would beryllium like, I didn't privation to get excessively acold up of myself. It's hard to accidental what it means, not conscionable for myself but for the different players, the squad and for New Zealand cricket.

"The results coming into the tourney weren't large but we were moving successful the close direction.

"Melie's a erstwhile successful a procreation player. What she was capable to bash contiguous with the bat was incredible."

South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt: "We had a prime hostile successful New Zealand and didn't play our champion cricket tonight.

"They truly came astatine america hard successful that powerplay, we possibly thought we could thrust that question but they enactment excessively overmuch unit connected america with the bat."