Captain Laura Wolvaardt sums up South Africa’s disappointing show in T20 World Cup final against New Zealand

Chasing 159 runs in the final against New Zealand, South Africa were 47/0 after the powerplay. They were well in control of the game as captain Laura Wolvaardt gave the team a perfect start but soon after the powerplay, things changed drastically for South Africa, losing wickets at crucial junctions. All of a sudden, they were 77/5 and eventually went on to lose the match by 32 runs in Dubai.

Reflecting upon their performance in the summit clash, Wolvaardt noted that they leaked plenty of runs in the first innings and that’s where the game went out of their hands. She explained that the White Ferns had a good start with the bat in the powerplay and after which, their players rotated well and that put pressure on South Africa. The 25-year-old also believes that they were in the zone to chase the total but lost momentum after the powerplay, and that cost them the title.

“I think we probably let them score a bit too many with the bat. They came out with some real intent and I think it sort of caught us on the back foot a little bit. We thought we could sort of ride it out hopefully, score a wicket or two but they sort of just kept going and rotated (the strike) really well,” Wolvaardt was quoted as saying by the ICC.

Also Read - Twitter Reactions: New Zealand women clinch maiden T20 World Cup title, beat South Africa women by 32 runs

“I think they had a really good last five or six overs where they really pushed that run rate and we were perhaps a bit off. After the Powerplay we had with the bat we thought game on but yeah just lost a bit of momentum outside the Powerplay,” she added.

There are a lot of positives to reflect on: Wolvaardt

South Africa lost back-to-back T20 World Cup finals in 2022 against Australia and in 2024 against New Zealand. Speaking on the same, Wolvaardt stated it’s disappointing but added that it’s a young and promising group and believes that the players have a lot to offer in the coming times.

“It's obviously disappointing, but I think in hindsight, we still came second in a tournament with 10-odd teams so we still had a pretty good tournament. There are a lot of positives to reflect on. A younger group as well, so to be able to make the finals with a younger group I think is very promising, so there is definitely a lot to look forward to. I can't wait to see what we do in the next couple of World Cups,” Wolvaardt said.