Australia has been a nation of unrivalled supremacy when it comes to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. They have won six titles, which makes them the most successful team in the tournament. Starting from the year 2010, Australia went on to win the Women’s T20 World Cup thrice and again, repeated the same between the years 2018 and 2023.
They had also won their fifth title at home in 2020 when they claimed the trophy after defeating India in a lopsided final held five years back today (March 8) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Batting first, Australia set up a huge target of 184 runs in 20 overs. India suffered a batting collapse and ended up being knocked down for just 99 runs.
Meg Lanning, the Australian captain, opted to bat first even after winning the toss in that final since the pitch at Melbourne looked so batting friendly. The hosts got off to a good start courtesy of the opening partnership between Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney. Both scored half-centuries, while the two added a partnership of 115 runs for the first wicket.
Healy fell to Radha Yadav for 75 off 39 balls, with seven fours and five sixes coughed up in the fiery knock. Mooney had batted up to the end, scoring 78 not out with ten fours. Other Aussie batters, apart from Lanning, who added 16, included Ashleigh Gardner and Rachael Haynes-dead duck scoring just two and four runs, respectively-with India’s spin-bowling all-rounder Deepti Sharma grabbing two wickets and both Poonam Yadav and Radha Yadav sharing one each.
India’s chase started horrendously, with talismans such as Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Jemimah Rodrigues returning with scores in single digits to their name. Smriti Mandhana also lasted only eight balls and scores just eleven.
Deepti Sharma, having taken charge of the situation when India was in dire straits at 30/4, was at one point joined by Veda Krishnamurthy. Their she-bear gutsy attempts fell short of the ability to chase down the insane target. Sharma finished as the highest run-getter with 33 runs, while Krishnamurthy and Richa Ghosh combined for 37 runs.
Megan Schutt was the highest wicket-taker of Australia with a four wicket haul. Jess Jonassen did not have a bad outing either, taking three. The rest were taken by Sophie Molineux, Delissa Kimmince and Nicola Carey. ‘Alyssa Healy’ because of his sharp innings that founded the colossal total was chosen ‘Player of the Match’.
