Melbourne: A rampant Australia swept to their fifth women’s Twenty20 World cup title on sunday, defeating India by 85 runs at the Melbourne cricket ground.
Alyssa Healy smashed a quick-fire 75 and Beth Mooney an unbeaten 78 as the defending players plundered an ominous 184 for four the highest score ever in a women’s T20 final.
Opting to bat, Australia rode on blistering half-centuries by openers Alyssa Healy (75) and Beth Mooney (78 not out) to post 184 for four before their bowlers, led by Megan Schutt (4/18) and Jess Jonassen (3/20), put up a disciplined effort to win their fifth title.
Chasing a challenging target, India, featuring in their maiden final of the tournament, couldn’t handle the pressure and were bundled out for 99 in 19.1 overs.
India suffered a batting collapse as the top order of teen sensation Shafali Verma (2), Smriti Mandhana (11), Jemimah Rodrigues (0) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (4) departed inside the first six overs.
To add to India’s woes, wicket-keeper Taniya Bhatia retired hurt in the second over after getting hit on her helmet of the bowling of left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen.
Deepti Sharma (33), Veda Krishnamurthy (19) and concussion substitute Richa Ghosh (14) tried to fight back but the Australian bowlers struck at regular intervals to choke India.
