Australia outplayed hosts West Indies in the first semi-final of the ICC Women’s World T20 by 71 runs on Friday.
Openers Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy couldn’t quite provide Australia with the start they would have wanted as they lost the former in just the third over with 20 runs on the board. A 51-run stand followed between Healy and skipper Meg Lanning that took them to 71 before the wicket-keeper batswoman was dismissed.
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Cameos from the bats of Ashleigh Gardner ( 14 runs off 10 balls) and Rachael Haynes (25 runs off 15 balls) followed and eventually they ended up with 142 runs.
Chasing a modest 143, the West Indies women failed to get good starts as they continuously pegged back with wickets at regular intervals. None of their batswomen could start well, the only exception being skipper Stafanie Taylor who was only one in the line-up to get to double figures (16). It was indeed a shoddy batting effort from the hosts as their effort was eventually ended at 71 runs, 71 short of what they would have liked to get.
The best bowler for the Australians was all-rounder Elysse Perry, who took two wickets in her two overs, conceding as many runs. Delissa Kimmince and Gardner took two wickets apiece as well to set up the emphatic win.
Brief scores: Australia Women 142/5 (Alyssa Healy 46, Meg Lanning 31; Stafanie Taylor 1/20) beat West Indies Women 71 all out (Stafanie Taylor 16, Henry 8; Perry 2/2) by 71 runs.