Super Sunday For New Zealand: History Made as White Ferns Clinch Maiden T20 World Title, Black Caps End 36-year Wait in India

New Zealand cricket fans will always remember October 20, 2024, as on this day, they received two good news after years of heartbreak in both men’s and women’s cricket. On Sunday (October 20), both the two Kiwi teams managed to pull off an extraordinary win, which for many experts, fans, and even to some extent for players as well, was a dream at the start of this month.

The Black Caps landed in India without for a three-match Test series without their premier batter Kane Williamson, who is dealing with a groin injury, and on the back of humiliating defeats in both the Tests played against Sri Lanka in Galle. But the Kiwis in Tom Latham’s first match as full-time captain of New Zealand’s Test side ended the 36-year-long wait for a Test win on Indian soil. The 2021 World Test Championship (WTC) winners defeated India by 8 wickets in the series opener played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

The visitors chased down the target of 107 runs for the loss of two wickets in the first session of the fifth day’s play to seal a famous win.

In Kane’s absence, 24-year-old Rachin Ravindra stepped up and played impressive knocks to end the more than three-decade-long wait. He hammered 134 runs in the first inning and remained unbeaten on 39 from 46 balls in the second. For his super show with the bat, the left-handed batting all-rounder won the Player of the Match award.

And then the joy doubled in the evening when another 24-year-old, who also came out to bat at No. 4, impressed with her all-round game and helped White Ferns hammer South Africa by 32 runs to win the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 title.

The Kiwi team entered the tournament in the United Arab Emirates on the back of 10 defeats in a row, but after finishing second in the group stage, they defeated 2016 champions West Indies in the second semifinal first and then managed to get the better of South Africa in the summit clash.

24-year-old Amelia Kerr top-scored for the White Ferns by scoring 43 runs, and then she dismissed three batters as well to seal the deal for her side and help them win the women’s shortest format megaevent for the first time in history.

While the wait for an ICC World Cup trophy is still on for the New Zealand men’s team, the women’s have finally completed the double. Before becoming T20 World Cup winners, the New Zealand women’s team won the ODI World Cup title in 2000.