3 lessons India can learn from New Zealand's 2024 Women's T20 World Cup triumphÂ
New Zealand Women scripted history by winning their maiden ICC Women's T20 World Cup by beating South Africa in the final on Sunday, October 20. They had a poor run coming into the T20 World Cup but turned things around to emerge as champions eventually.
The White Ferns posted a competitive total of 158/5 after batting first thanks to key knocks from Suzie Bates (32), Amelia Kerr (43), and Brooke Halliday (38). Their bowlers then stepped up, led by Rosemary Mair and Amelia, who picked up three wickets apiece.
South Africa were restricted to 126/9 as New Zealand won the game by 32 runs and completed a memorable win as they were not among the favorites to triumph at the start of the tournament.
New Zealand beat India earlier in the tournament, producing a clinical performance, that set the tone for their successful campaign. India, who were deemed among the strong favorites, had a disappointing outing as they failed to make it past the group stage.
While the White Ferns had a stellar tournament, here are three important lessons India can learn from their success.
3 lessons India can learn from New Zealand's 2024 Women's T20 World Cup triumph
#3 To not over-rely on few players alone
India's famed batting line-up, with the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Harmanpreet Kaur, failed to step up and deliver consistently.
With these big names failing, none of the other batters were also able to perform consistently throughout the tournament. As for New Zealand, while none of their batters scored in excess of 200 runs in the whole tournament individually, it was a complete team effort, with the likes of Sophie Devine (114 runs), Amelia Kerr (135 runs), Suzie Bates (150 runs), and Georgia Plimmer (150 runs), all stepping up.
Harmanpreet Kaur was India's lone batter to go past 100 runs in the tournament, with the rest failing to deliver at crucial moments.
#2 To show intent under pressure
Batting first in a high-pressure final, New Zealand lost the likes of Georgia Plimmer and Sophie Devine cheaply. Plimmer was a consistent scorer for them in the tournament.
However, the other batters showed intent and did not let the innings crumble under pressure. Amelia Kerr stepped up with a crucial 38-ball 43, while Brooke Halliday combined forces with her, scoring a vital 28-ball 38. Further, Maddy Green came in and gave them a strong finish with an unbeaten six-ball 12.
As often observed with India, the team fails to show intent under pressure or takes a cautious approach, which costs them. Even in the game against Australia, Harmanpreet Kaur was left to do too much all by herself, with the India skipper herself taking a timid approach in an important game.
Unlike New Zealand, particularly in the final, the Indian batters could have been braver with the bat, especially in the middle-order.
#1 Ability to handle pressure in knockout games
The Indian Women's team has often failed to deliver under pressure, particularly on big occasions such as knockout matches. Having made the knockouts five times out of the previous eight editions of the Women's T20 World Cup, India still do not have a single trophy to their name.
This was the case even in their recent loss to Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup, where they fell prey to the pressure of a big knockout game once again after having bossed the tournament throughout.
New Zealand, on the other hand, came into this World Cup on the back of 10 consecutive defeats and were under immense pressure to deliver on the big stage. Defying all odds, they not only made it to the final but also held their nerves, putting up a complete team effort in the end to win the trophy.
Handling pressure in such situations, particularly in big knockout games, is something that the Indian team definitely needs to learn if they have to start winning trophies at ICC events.