New Zealand made history on Sunday by winning the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 title, marking their first-ever T20 World Cup championship in both men’s and women’s categories.
The White Ferns achieved a convincing victory against South Africa, winning by 32 runs in Dubai. South Africa, competing in their second consecutive final, chose to field first, allowing the Sophie Devine-led team to capitalize and set a strong total of 158 runs for 5 wickets. In response, South Africa could only manage 126 runs for 9 wickets, failing once again to secure the title.
As New Zealand celebrates their historic ICC trophy win, it’s worth noting the substantial prize money they have received. Earlier this year, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced a 134% increase in the winner’s prize money for this year’s Women’s T20 World Cup. Consequently, the champions, New Zealand, took home a generous cash prize of USD 2.34 million (approximately Rs 19.6 crore).
South Africa, as the runners-up, also received a significant reward of USD 1.17 million (around Rs 9.8 crore).
In a move to encourage broader recognition, the ICC expanded the prize distribution this year to include not just the winners and runners-up but also the semi-finalists and the top three teams from the group stage. Both semi-finalists, Australia and West Indies, were awarded USD 675,000 (approximately Rs 5.7 crore) each.
While the final group stage rankings are yet to be confirmed, India, with two wins out of four matches, is likely to finish in sixth place, which would earn them a prize of USD 270,000 (around Rs 2.25 crore). This same amount will be distributed to the three best-performing teams in the group stage.
Sunday proved to be monumental for New Zealand cricket, as the White Ferns clinched their first ICC trophy just hours after the men’s team achieved their first Test victory in India in 36 years.
