Women’s T20 World Cup, Final: Australia vs India - Who said What

India’s dream run in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 ended on a disappointing note as Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. suffered a thumping 85-run defeat after being outclassed in all the departments.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Australia Women–led by their openers Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney— wreaked havoc on the Indian bowling lineup from the word go. India Women were left reeling in the Powerplay itself after Healy and Mooney flagged off their innings in a ferocious way. Healy stitched a quick-fire 75 off just 39 deliveries and left Indian bowlers in doldrums.

Mooney also joined the bandwagon and put her foot on the gas pedal, amassing 78 runs in 54 deliveries. Both the openers propelled their side to a flying start and weaved a 115-run opening start. Mooney remained unbeaten and ensured that the Aussie Women dazzled in front of a jam-packed MCG. The defending champions posted a massive total of 184 runs on the board in their stipulated 20 overs.

Coming on to India’s run chase, all eyes were on Shafali Verma to continue her prolific run-scoring spree. However, to the disdain of every Indian fan, the 16-year-old was sent back to the pavilion in the first over itself by the leading wicket-taker of this tournament– Megan Schutt. India’s woes did not end there as wickets kept tumbling for the Women in Blue in quick succession.

Australia Women clinched their fifth T20 World Cup title

No batswoman was able to amass a double-digit score until Deepti Sharma took the guard and stitched a composed 33-run knock to steer her side to a respectable total. She was also assisted by Veda Krishnamurthy (19) and Richa Ghosh (18).

However, things were never going to be enough for India Women after their top-order stalwarts– Mandhana, Verma, Rodrigues and Kaur– had to return to the pavilion with dismal scores. The pressure kept mounting on the Women in Blue as they eventually succumbed to the increasing run-rate and could post only 99 runs on the board before being bowled out. Megan Schutt dazzled yet again and dismantled the Indian side by scalping a four-wicket haul along with Jess Jonassen, who also chipped in with three wickets.

An ecstatic Australian team was seen celebrating after outclassing India Women in every department and lifting their fifth T20 World Cup title.

Alyssa Healy, the Player of the Match said

It was unbelievable, thank you everyone. You can’t wipe off the smile out of my face, even if we lost this game. It’s the nature of how I play, just needed a little bit of luck. Just went out there and enjoyed my time. Mooney is sensational. She got off strike and let me do my thing. We are having a lot of fun together.

Beth Mooney, the Player of the Tournament said

The crowd has been amazing right throughout the tournament, I’m lost for words. I think we stuck to our processes if it wasn’t your day someone else chipped in. We sort of knew what went wrong against India in the first game and we worked on our plans accordingly. Everyone did pretty well, and we had the support of 87000 people. I like to challenge myself and find new ways to be the best in the world. We have great support around us and I’ve been very fortunate. I’ll keep going along as long as I can. I’d love to take the gloves, but I’m not that bad in the outfield either.

Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian skipper said

The way we played in the league stages, it was outstanding. It was unfortunate to drop those catches today. Upcoming 1.5 years is important. The future is good for us, we need to trust ourselves. You have to keep learning. The first game was very good, it gave us a lot of confidence.

We spent a lot of time together, unfortunate for us not to win today. We have to keep working hard. We are in the right line, every year we are improving. We need to play with more focus. Sometimes, we are not able to give our best. This year we are hoping for some more games in the Women’s T20 Challenge. That tournament is very important. Hopefully, we do get more players.

Meg Lanning, the Australia skipper said

I’m just proud of this group. We have had ups and downs. To put this kind of performance on the biggest day is outstanding. There was a lot of expectations from us. We were hoping to be there. To get here was a significant achievement. We had to change our tactics quickly, had to execute on the big stage. I knew she’s (Schutt) going to perform well. I’d like to thank all the support staff, to family and friends. And, also to the fans, I’m happy to play in front of you.