Cape Town, 26 February 2023 (GNP): Australia defeated South Africa by 19 runs on Sunday to win the Women’s T20 World Cup for the sixth time.
The women in yellow went undefeated throughout the tournament, and everyone of their star players came to the fore at various stages of the campaign.
Meg Lanning registers herself one of the sport’s all-time greats by becoming the first skipper to win five ICC trophies.
Earlier, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first during Women T20 World Cup.
Mooney brought up her fifty in the 18th over, reaching the milestone in 44 deliveries. The left-hander joins Marlon Samuels and Kumar Sangakkara as the third cricketer to record multiple half-centuries in T20 World Cup finals.
Australia registered 156 at the loss of 6 wickets.
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The run chase for South Africa got off to a slow start. Australian bowlers did very well to restrict South Africa early on during the Powerplay. But hopes were alive for South Africa as Wolvaardt brought up her half-century in the 15th over with a cracking cover drive.
The ever-reliable Megan Schutt ended Wolvaardt‘s counterattack in the 17th over, trapping the right-hander on the front pad.
The hosts fell short off the 157-run target and Aussies completed a 19-run victory over South Africa.
“You guys are very annoying,” South African captain Sune Luus joked after the defeat.
She further added, “You guys have been inspiring the world of cricket for a very long time. A lot of players look up to you guys, and I think you just showed your class again today, so well deserved, and well done.”
“We’ve been longing for this moment since the last World Cup,” Australian all-rounder Ash Gardner, said during the post-match presentation.
Gardner is rightfully named as the Player of the Tournament for her outstanding performance with both the bat and the ball. She scored 110 runs and took 10 wickets in the tournament.
Mooney received the Player of the Match award for her unbeaten 74 off 53 deliveries.