Australia defeat India to win its fifth Women's T20 World Cup

Australia displayed an all-round performance to defeat India by 85 runs to win its fifth Women's T20 World Cup title on Sunday here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Before this edition, Australia had won the tournament in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2018.

Chasing 185, India got off to the worst start possible as Shafali Verma (2) was sent back to the pavilion by Megan Schutt on the third ball of the innings. Taniya Bhatia next came out to bat, but she was struck on the helmet, and she had to walk off the field to undergo a concussion test.

Jemimah Rodrigues (0) also perished in the second over of the innings, and India was staring down the barrel at 8/2. With all hopes relying on her, Smriti Mandhana (11) was sent back to the pavilion by Sophie Molineux and hopes of winning the first 20-over World Cup title looked like a distant dream.

The final nail in the coffin for India came in the sixth over of the innings as Harmanpreet (4) was sent back to the pavilion by Jess Jonassen, reducing the team to 30/4. Veda Krishnamurthy and Deepti Sharma tried to retrieve the innings as the duo put on 28 runs, but their vigil ended in the 12th over as Krishnamurthy (19) was dismissed by Delissa Kimmince.

Taniya did not come out to bat due to concussion and Richa Ghosh came in place of her as concussion substitute. In the end, Australia did not give away many loose balls, and the hosts went away with a win by 85 runs to win their fifth T20 World Cup title.

Earlier, Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy played knocks of 78 and 75 respectively to take Australia's score to 184/4 in the allotted twenty overs.

Opting to bat first, Australia got off to a flier as openers Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney scored 91 runs in the first ten overs of the match.

The duo went on to stitch a partnership of 115 runs, and it saw Healy breaking the record for registering the fastest fifty in the history of ICC event finals. Healy (75) was finally sent back to the pavilion in the 12th over as she was sent back to the pavilion by Radha Yadav.

Skipper Meg Lanning then joined Mooney in the middle and both batters did not let momentum slide for Australia. The duo registered 39 runs together, but in trying to score boundaries, Lanning (16) and Ashleigh Gardner (0) perished in the 17th over, reducing Australia to 156/3.

In the final two overs, Mooney managed to register boundaries to take Australia's score past the 180-run mark in the allotted twenty overs. For Australia, Mooney and Nicola Carey remained unbeaten on 78 and 5 respectively. For India, Deepti Sharma scalped two wickets.

Brief Scores: Australia 184/4 (Beth Mooney 78*, Alyssa Healy 75, Deepti Sharma 2-38) defeat India 99/10 (Deepti Sharma 33, Veda Krishnamurthy 19, Megan Schutt 4-18) by runs.

-ANI

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