Australia decimate India by 85 runs to lift fifth ICC Women's T20 World Cup title

Australia posted a good target of 185 runs for first-time finalists India.

Image Credits: Twitter/@cricketworldcup

Hosts Australia produced an all-round performance to beat India by 85 runs in the final of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women's T20 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday and lift the record-extending fifth title at the showpiece event. 

The defending champion won the toss and opted to bat first. 

Openers Alyssa Healy (75) and Beth Mooney (78) gave a perfect start to their side as they not only smashed a blistering half-century each but also shared a mammoth 115-run partnership for the opening wicket. The duo hammered Indian bowlers to all parts of the ground to help Australia set a good target of 185 runs for the first-time finalist.

Healy scored seven boundaries and five sixes in 39-ball knock, while Mooney hit 10 boundaries in her unbeaten innings of 54 deliveries.

Meanwhile, skipper Meg Lanning also contributed with 16 runs off 15 balls before being caught by Shikha Pandey off Deepti Sharma delivery. 

For India, Deepti Sharma bagged two wickets while Radha Yadav and Poonam Yadav also chipped in with a wicket each. 

In reply, the Indian batters failed to counter Australia's bowling attack and fell like a pack of cards to get eventually bundled out for 99 runs. Deepti was the highest scorer for the Women in Blue with 33 runs. 

Besides Deepti, Smriti Mandhana (11), Veda Krishnamurthy (19) and Richa Ghosh (18) were the only other Indian players to have managed to reach the double figures. 

16-year-old Shafali Verma, who was the star batswoman for India throughout the Women's T20 World Cup, too failed to click with the bat in the summit showdown and fell cheaply for two runs. 

Megan Schutt was the pick of the bowlers for Australia as she claimed four wickets while conceding just 18 runs, followed by Jess Jonassen's three for 20. 

Sophie Molineux, Delissa Kimmince and Nicola Carey also contributed with a wicket each.

Alyssa Healy was declared Player of the Match for her impressive show with the bat, while Beth Mooney was adjudged Player of the series after she amassed 259 runs in six innings.