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New Zealand trump South Africa for first Women’s T20 World Cup title
An outstanding all-round performance by Amelia Kerr led New Zealand to their first ever Women’s T20 World Cup title as they beat South Africa by a commanding 32 runs in Sunday’s final in Dubai.
Player of the Match Kerr top-scored with 43 as New Zealand posted an imposing 158-5 in their 20 overs before taking 3-24, and crucially picking up the key wickets of Laura Wolvaardt and Anneke Bosch, to restrict South Africa to 126-9 in their 20 overs.
It marked a sweet finish to skipper Sophie Devine’s career.
The victory came 14 years after the White Ferns lost to Australia by just three runs in the 2010 final. They also lost to England in the 2009 championship match.
For South Africa it made for a double disappointment having lost last year’s final to Australia in Cape Town.
After being put in to bat by South Africa captain Wolvaardt, the New Zealand openers began aggressively with Georgia Plimmer smashing two fours in the first over from Marizanne Kapp.
Plimmer fell for nine but Suzie Bates, playing in her 334th international, kept the scoreboard ticking over until she was bowled by Nonkululeko Mlaba for 32 from 31 balls.
When Devine was leg before to Nadine de Klerk on review, the innings appeared to be faltering but the arrival of Brooke Halliday lifted the tempo as she added 57 in seven overs with Kerr for the fourth wicket.
Halliday hit three boundaries in her 38 but was dismissed when she picked out Bosch on the midwicket boundary.
Kerr slammed back-to-back boundaries off Mlaba before finding Tazmin Brits to fall for 43 from 38 balls.
Maddy Green, however, maintained the momentum with 12 off six balls including the only six of the innings.
Wolvaardt (33) and Brits (17) got South Africa off to a roaring start bringing up the 50 in the seventh over before Brits attempted to hit Fran Jonas over long-on only to find the safe hands of Green lying in wait.
With Bosch struggling to get going, Wolvaardt showed her frustration by lashing the first ball of Kerr’s second over to Bates at wide mid-off.
When a review concluded that Bosch had edged the last ball of the over to Isabella Gaze, South Africa had slumped to 64-3 and New Zealand were in command.
With the required run rate rising, South Africa’s middle and lower order, who have barely batted in this tournament, struggled to get going with wickets tumbling at regular intervals.
Kerr took a catch to remove Nadine de Klerk and then claimed a third wicket when Bates, arguably the outstanding fielder at the tournament, took her third catch of the innings to remove Annerie Dercksen. She finished with a tournament-leading 15 wickets.
The last pair held out for the final over but could not prevent New Zealand from celebrating their first title.
(AFP)
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2nd capacity-building program under NCGG-SLIDA MoU concludes
The second customized training program for Sri Lankan civil service officers under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) and the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA) was successfully conducted from 26 May to 6 June 2025.
A total of 40 Sri Lankan officers participated in the program, which focused on strengthening public administration through digital governance and innovation.
The training program is part of a larger commitment under the MoU, signed during the state visit of the President of Sri Lanka, – Anura Kumara Disanayaka, to India in December 2024, aimed at training 1500 Sri Lankan civil servants over a period of five years.
Previously, 41 Sri Lankan civil servants attended the inaugural program on the same theme from 21 April to 02 May 2025.
The training focused on avenues for transforming governance through digital technologies – covering areas such as enhancing online public services, building robust digital infrastructure, expanding access to financial services via digital payments, and improving the way public grievances are addressed using innovative digital solutions. Senior Indian officials and domain experts shared insights into India’s leading digital governance initiatives such as ‘Aadhaar’, Digital Payments and Financial Inclusion, Government e-Marketplace (GeM), Public Finance Management System, among others. The participants also undertook field visits to key institutions such as the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, Election Commission of India, PM Gati Shakti Anubhuti Kendra, National e-Governance Division and the Computerized Land Record Centre in Uttarakhand. The program concluded with a cultural visit to the Taj Mahal.
Capacity-building is an important pillar of India’s development cooperation with Sri Lanka. Reinforcing India’s commitment further in this sector, Prime Minister of India during his recent state visit to Sri Lanka in April 2025 announced additional 700 customized training slots annually for Sri Lankan professionals. This significantly enhanced capacity-building endeavour of India thus will now benefit 1000 Sri Lankans annually.
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2nd capacity-building program under NCGG-SLIDA MoU concludes
