Kolkata: The women’s T20 World Cup will have a new winner as South Africa take on New Zealand in the title clash at Dubai on Sunday. This is the first time New Zealand are playing a T20 World Cup final since 2010. South Africa are playing their second final in two years, having lost to Australia in Cape Town last year. That loss was avenged in the semi-finals with a historic win over Australia but now awaits a bigger test that South Africa have never aced. But more significant are the participants themselves, underlining hope that women’s cricket can move beyond the realms defined by Australia, England and India.

Much has already changed since the 2023 final, feels South Africa’s Chloe Tryon. “I feel like we’ve grown a lot as a unit and as individuals and knowing our roles. But I feel like the way we’ve been playing is quite calm. And I feel like that’s been really good in our group,” she said in the press conference on the eve of the final. “And I feel that we also feel like we have nothing to lose. We didn’t really come into the tournament, being nervous at the fact that we had played a final and there was a big expectation on us to get to another final. I just feel like we narrowed it down and just focused on every single game that was in front of us.”

Before this tournament began, New Zealand were in the unenviable position of losing 10 matches on the trot but the turnaround has been so timely that their ascent to the final seems almost destined. This is probably the last time Sophie Devine, Susie Bates and pacer Lea Tahuhu will play a T20I for New Zealand, making the occasion even more momentous for them. Batting has been their biggest strength, and Friday’s semi-final showed New Zealand can be pretty sloppy in the field. Against an equally agile side, that could be a problem.

Devine, New Zealand’s captain, chose to focus on the gains though. “The thing that makes me most proud as a leader is the resilience we’ve shown and the character we’ve had, not just in this tournament but the last 12-18 months,” said Devine on Friday. “Results haven’t gone our way and we’ve had a lot of stick from the outside but the belief in what this group is about, and what we’re capable of doing has been there. To be able to go this deep, I’m now really excited about this last match. We’ve got nothing to lose and that’s a pretty cool space to be.”

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