Cape Town: An all-round performance on the pitch by the Australian women side lead them to their third consecutive and sixth overall world title Sunday defeating the host South Africa by 19 runs.
The star of the semifinal, in form Beth Mooney yet again struck a fine unbeaten half-century which helped the five-time champions to put a total of 156 on board against the host proteas.
Australia would thank Mooney for the way she played despite losing her opening partner Alyssa Healy (18). Mooney smashed nine boundaries and a six at a strike rate of nearly 140 to trouble the Proteas bowlers.
Electing to bat, Australia lost Alyssa Healy (18) early, caught at covers by Nadine De Klerk off the bowling of Marizanne Kapp (2/35) in the fifth over.
Then Ashleigh Gardner (29 off 21) joined hands with Mooney and the pair’s 46 runs for the second wicket stabilised the innings before the former was brilliantly caught at long-off by South Africa skipper Sune Luus off the bowling of left-arm spinner Chloe-Lesleigh Tryon.
But Mooney went about her business in blistering fashion and dispatched the bad deliveries to the fence to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Grace Harris tried to up the scoring rate but was cleaned up by left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba in the 14th over as the batter went for a wild heave over the square-leg boundary.
Next in, skipper Meg Lanning showed intent from the word go, scoring her first runs from a boundary through the point region before being brilliantly caught by Tyron at deep backward square leg off the bowling of Kapp.
Mooney, however, remained unperturbed as she kept consolidating the Australia innings, picking up boundaries with ease.
Even as Mooney held one end up, wickets kept tumbling at the other side as Australia tried to find boundaries towards the end of the innings.
South Africa brilliantly pulled things back towards the end of the innings by picking up wickets at regular intervals with Mooney remaining stranded at the other end.
The South Africans could not able to carry forward the momentum in their batting as the Australia’s disciplined bowling effort and fielding kept Proteas contained.
Opener Laura Wolvaardt however kept the match alive till she was around, but her dismissal at 61 (48 balls) in the 17th over ended their title hopes.
Brief Scores:
Australia: 156 for 6 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 74, Ashleigh Gardner 29; Marizanne Kapp 2/35, Shabnim Ismail 2/26)
South Africa: 137 for 6 inj 20 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 61, Chloe Tryon 25).
PTI
