ICC Women's World Cup has almost come to an end. This is the third time New Zealand hosted the pinnacle event for women's cricket, having previously hosted in the years 1982 and 2000. Both of the earlier times, the final was played in Canterbury region- Christchurch in 1982 and Lincoln in 2000. This year again, Christchurch is all set to host the tournament's final on 3 April at Hagley Oval.
The event this year saw eight of the world's best cricket teams play 31 matches over 31 days between 4 March and 3 April 2022. These were held in six host cities across New Zealand: Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Wellington, Otautahi Christchurch, and Dunedin.
The eight teams that competed for the cup are New Zealand, Australia, England, South Africa, India, Bangladesh, West Indies and Pakistan.
The first Semi-final was played on Wednesday in Wellington where Australia beat West Indies to reach the finals. Australia, which currently holds the number 1 spot on the ICC World Ranking, dominated the proceedings and won the day by a huge 157 runs.
Australia tops the tournament standings and remain unbeaten.
On Thursday, Reigning champions England entered the finals beating South Africa women in Christchurch. England won five matches in a row to after losing first three matches and almost getting eliminated. They face Australia in the final at Hagley Oval, Christchurch on Sunday, 3 April.
England has won the World Cup on four occasions, while Australia is a six-time champion.
Tournament hosts New Zealand currently stands behind India at sixth place having won three of their seven matches.
Even though the tournament has been a thrilling ride over the past three weeks with some nail-biting finishes and cricketing brilliance on display, turnout has not been great due to Omicron breakout and Covid restrictions.
Recently announced changes to Covid restrictions have come at a perfect time, meaning more cricket fans can now enjoy the final few games.
ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 22 Chief Executive Andrea Nelson said, "World Cup semis and finals are special occasions that don't come around too often – this is a great way for cricket whanau in Wellington and Christchurch to get out there, get together and be part of something special, no matter who is playing."
"We had sold out what we had available under the previous restrictions, so it's great to offer full capacity and meet the demand which I know will be high."
"The momentum in women's sport is building – the timing couldn't be better for Aotearoa sports fans to get along and support the best cricketers in the world playing in our own backyard," Nelson said.
International Cricket Council Chief Executive Geoff Allardice added: "We're delighted that we're able to welcome more fans back into the stadiums for the closing stages of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022.
"This has been one of the most competitive World Cups we've ever seen in men's or women's cricket with close, tightly fought matches and some outstanding performances that have made for compelling viewing.
"We know how much New Zealanders love their sport and they have the world's best cricketers competing for the title of world champions on their doorstep. We're looking forward to them joining us for what I know will be a thrilling conclusion to a fantastic event."
With India out of the tournament, fans of Indian women team might not be interested to but cricket lovers would definitely enjoy the remaining matches being played at Hagley Oval, Christchurch.
You can buy your tickets from tickets.cricketworldcup.com.