Snehasis Mukherjee in Dubai
A new champion of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will be crowned today at the Dubai International Stadium as South Africa take on New Zealand. Throughout the tournament, South Africa’s top order has been superb, especially Tazmin Brits (2nd highest run-scorer with 170 runs, average 42.50, strike-rate 104.93) and skipper Laura Wolvaardt (highest run-scorer with 190 runs, average 47.50, strike rate 111.76). In the semi-final against Australia, Anneke Bosch delivered a top-class knock (74* off 48 balls) after struggling earlier in the tournament.
The opening pair of Brits and Wolvaardt has been the most successful, but this has left their middle order with limited opportunities. Marizanne Kapp has batted three times, scoring 82 runs at a strike rate of 151.85, while players like Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, and Sune Luus have had very few chances. Heading into today’s final, this could be a concern. In five matches, the Proteas women have lost three wickets twice, five wickets once, and six wickets only once. But they lost those six wickets in Sharjah against England. In Dubai, as a batting unit, they have performed better, especially their top-order batters. In their opening game vs the Windies, they even chased down 119 runs without losing a single wicket.
New Zealand’s spinners have been tremendous throughout the tournament. Eden Carson has been particularly effective in the powerplay, consistently taking wickets and putting early pressure on opponents. Amelia Kerr has dominated the middle overs and is currently the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 12 at an economy rate of 4.60. So far, spinners have dismissed Wolvaardt three times and Brits twice. In this venue so far, spinners have taken 67 wickets in 11 games at an economy of 6.22 compared to pacers’ 48 wickets in 11 games at an economy of 6.17 in this tournament.
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Facing Carson in the first six overs will be a tough challenge for both South Africa’s skipper and her opening partner. If Carson manages to get an early breakthrough, South Africa’s largely untested middle order will need to step up — especially against Kerr in the middle overs.
At yesterday’s pre-match press conference, Tryon was asked if the team had any special preparation to face New Zealand’s in-form spinners. She acknowledged their quality but said that South Africa had a plan in place to handle them. “We are playing a quality side,” she said. Their spinners; Amelia and Carson, have done well. We will look to be busy against them like we were against Australia, and we will see. We have to be proactive.”
Against Australia, the Proteas scored 66 runs in eight overs from the spin trio of Ashleigh Gardner, Sophie Molineux, and Georgia Wareham, at a run rate of 8.25 without gifting a single wicket. Despite facing 20 dot balls in those 48 deliveries, they managed to hit seven fours and two sixes, staying proactive, and punishing loose deliveries without losing intent.
The key battle in this final will be New Zealand’s spinners against South Africa’s top order. If the top order fails, the middle order, which has not been thoroughly tested, will need to rise to the occasion and overcome New Zealand’s spin challenge to post a competitive score.
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