New Zealand ended their wait for a major limited-overs cricket title by winning the Women's T20 World Cup in the UAE on Sunday. It was the first time that the country was winning a World Cup title, men's or women's, and it came against the odds with the White Ferns going through a horrible patch of form in the buildup to the tournament.

New Zealand beat South Africa by 32 runs in the final in Dubai. This was their first T20 World Cup final for the first time in 14 years. The White Ferns had finished runners-up in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2009 and in the next edition in 2010 but couldn't reach the title clash in the years since.

A record prize money pool for this year's Women's T20 World Cup

Apart from the glory of winning the T20 World Cup itself, the White Ferns are in for a bit of a windfall with the International Cricket Council (ICC) earlier announcing a record prize money for this year's tournament. The champions get USD 2.34 million ( ₹19.6 crore), an increase of 134 per cent over the prize money that was awarded in 2023. Runners-up South Africa receive USD 1.17 million ( ₹9.8 crore).

An overall prize money pool of $7,958,080 (about ₹66.5 crore) was announced by the ICC ahead of the start of the tournament, which itself was an increase of 225 per cent from the last edition.

Why India won't go back empty-handed

The prize money pool will also be distributed among teams that have been knocked out in earlier stages of the tournament. The two semi-finalists - Australia and the West Indies, take home USD 675,000 ( ₹5.7 crore) each. Teams that finished ranked fifth to eighth, which essentially means the three best teams in the group stage outside of the semi-finalists and the finalists, will be awarded USD 270,000 ( ₹2.25 crore) each. The final rankings haven't been released yet but it is safe to say that India are placed sixth. England finished with six points in Group B and failed to make the finals while India have four points in Group A. It means that Harmanpreet Kaur's side are set to earn ₹2.25 crore. Additionally, the West Indies and Australia could earn USD 31,154 ( ₹26 lakh) in addition to what they earn for their semi-final finishes as they won their respective groups.

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