This was published 1 year ago
Mooney on fire as Australia beat South Africa to win the T20 World Cup
By Annesha Ghosh
Meg Lanning’s champion Australian side has won another global crown, defending the women’s T20 World Cup title with an emphatic 19-run victory over hosts South Africa in Cape Town on Sunday.
An unbeaten 53-ball 74 from Beth Mooney piled the pressure on the South Africans in their first-ever World Cup final appearance as the Australians, opting to bat, amassed 6-156 at Newlands.
Meg Lanning lifts the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup – again.Credit: Getty Images
Lanning’s team then bowled and fielded with clinical efficiency to stay in control as it restricted the Proteas to 6-137 to lift the T20 global title for the third consecutive time – the sixth time in the last seven editions.
Laura Wolvaardt scored a superb 61 for South Africa, but there was too little support around her, and Australia’s clever use of pace and length strangled the scoring rate for large parts of the innings.
Earlier, an unbeaten 74 from Mooney and 29 off 21 balls from Ashleigh Gardner helped Australia overcome a slow start at Newlands.
Meg Lanning and Ashleigh Gardner celebrate winning the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.Credit: Getty Images
It was just enough, with South Africa falling short in their chase after three early wickets slowed their run accumulation.
Mooney’s quickfire 15-ball stand of 33 with Ellyse Perry (seven off 5 balls) ensured the defending champions scored 46 in the death overs despite Shabnim Ismail’s double-wicket 20th over.
The 34-year-old South Africa quick became the leading wicket-taker in women’s T20 World Cup history with her 42nd strike.
She was on a hat-trick when Tahlia McGrath took a single off the final ball as Australia finished on 6-156, leaving the match evenly poised.
Earlier, Gardner, promoted to captain Meg Lanning’s usual No.3 slot, marshalled Australia from 1-36 in the powerplay to double that run tally by the halfway mark.
Her 41-ball, 46-run second-wicket stand with Mooney, who played out a maiden in the sixth over against Ismail, broke upon the introduction of part-time spinner Chloe Tryon.
The left-armer had Gardner hole out to long-off, where South African captain Sune Luus completed a high catch without a hitch.
The all-rounder then took a superb catch at deep midwicket off a Lanning pull to reduce the opposition to 4-122 with 17 balls left in the innings.
Beth Mooney in full flight for Australia.Credit: Getty Images
Australia amassed 34 off those 17, with Mooney, who brought up her second successive 50 of the World Cup, off 44 balls, alone fetching 25 in that tally. Her unbeaten 74 came off 53 balls.
Mooney’s pivotal innings rescued Australia after her fellow opener, Alyssa Healy, scrapped to a 20-ball 18 that ended with a catch at cover off Marizanne Kapp.
Australia were pre-match favourites against a South African side playing in its first final and that experience with bat and ball showed on a slow wicket as Lanning’s side retained the title they won on home soil in 2020.
After the game, Megan Schutt admitted her relief that Australia overcame a “scary” spell when it felt their victory might just be slipping away, as South Africa’s attacking 55-run fourth-wicket stand put Australia “under the pump”.
But with the game threatening to swing the hosts’ way at the death at Newlands, it was Schutt herself who speared in a momentum-changing full ball in the 17th over which got things back on track for the serial winners.
The delivery trapped opener Wolvaardt lbw, breaking the half-centurion’s fifty stand with Tryon.
“She [Wolvaardt] was hitting them bloody nicely – and so was Chloe,” reflected Schutt, who shares the Adelaide Strikers dressing room with Wolvaardt.
“So, it was honestly quite scary there towards the end.
“We were under the pump, don’t get me wrong ... she probably tried to play me too square and that did her in but she was hitting down the ground beautifully. Crucial wicket, but just lucky that it came off.”
Schutt, who was part of the Australian side that botched a 148-run defence in the 2016 T20 World Cup final against West Indies, said winning three 20-over world titles since then has been gratifying.
“Pretty bloody special. I mean, people keep having digs at us that winning is boring - but it’s not boring for us,” the 30-year-old said.
“Every time that we come, we come to win and this is another one we got to do in front of a crowd that felt like bloody 70,000 people. It was so damn loud, so really cool.”
T20 Women’s World Cup champions
2009: England
2010: Australia
2012: Australia
2014: Australia
2016: West Indies
2018: Australia
2020: Australia
2023: Australia
AAP
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