Women World Cup Final Preview: New Zealand's golden generation of players led by Sophie Devine will have one last chance to lay their hands on the global ICC trophy when the team takes on South Africa in the final match of the T20 World Cup here on Sunday. This final match is sure to produce a new T20 World Champion as both the teams have never won the title of this format before.

The New Zealand women's team won the ODI World Cup in 2000 but none of the current squad members were part of that historic title triumph.

New Zealand's confidence was shaken after losing 10 consecutive matches before the start of the event, but the group made a great comeback under the leadership of Devine. The team benefited from the presence of experienced players like Suzie Bates, Amelia Kerr, and Lea Tahuhu. This is probably the last time Devine, Bates, and Tahuhu will play for the national team in a global tournament.

Thirty-five-year-old Devine has more than 7000 runs in the white ball format, while 37-year-old Bates has more than 10,000 runs. Fast bowler Tahuhu is 34 years old. He has taken 112 wickets in ODIs and 93 wickets in T20 internationals. These players will leave no stone unturned to fulfill their dream of the World Cup trophy.

South Africa would also like to overcome the pain of last year and win the title. Last year, it was defeated by Australia in the World Cup final on its home ground. New Zealand players have raised their level of play at important moments in the tournament and when the performance of the batsmen has declined, the bowlers have won the match for the team. A similar scene was seen in the semi-final match against West Indies when the bowlers stopped the aggressive batsmen of West Indies and won the low-scoring match.

Kerr now has 12 wickets in the tournament. She got good support from Aiden Carson (eight wickets), and Rosemary Meyer (seven wickets) and experienced Tahuhu from the other end. New Zealand started their campaign in the tournament with a big win over India but in the group stage, they had to face defeat by 60 runs against Australia, one of the strongest teams of the tournament.

The team booked a ticket to the final for the third time by registering a morale-boosting win over West Indies in a low-scoring semi-final. South Africa has performed brilliantly in every department of the game. Laura Wolvaardt (190 runs) and Tazmin Brits (170 runs) are among the highest run scorers in the tournament.

The team's morale would have been boosted due to the spectacular eight-wicket win over Australia in the semi-finals. In this match, South Africa had won the match with more than two overs to spare after restricting Australia to 135 runs for five wickets. South Africa's team will largely depend on the pair of Wolvaardt and Brits. However, this pair will also need the support of players like Anneke Bosch and Marizanne Kapp. In bowling, Nonkulule Mlaba (10 wickets) will also need the rest of the bowlers to repeat their performance in the semi-finals.

Teams:

New Zealand: Sophie Devine (captain), Suzie Bates, Aiden Carson, Isabella Gage (wicketkeeper), Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu.

South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (captain), Anneke Bosch, Tajmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dirksen, Mieke de Ridder (wicketkeeper), Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta (wicketkeeper), Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Sune Luus, Nonkulule Mlaba, Seshni Naidoo, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloe Tryon.

The match will start at 07:30 PM IST.