Two-time defending champion Australia powered to a six-wicket win over old foe England to win its third consecutive title in the women’s World Twenty20 in Dhaka on Sunday.
Sarah Coyte grabbed three for 16 in her four overs and Ellyse Perry and Rene Farrell claimed two wickets each to restrict England to a modest 105 for eight after Australia won the toss and elected to field.
Heather Knight’s 29 off 24 balls and Sarah Taylor’s 18 lifted England to 55 for one before seven wickets crashed for 46 runs aganst the steady Australian attack that was backed by smart fielding.
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Australian captain Meg Lanning then smashed a 30-ball 44 studded with two sixes and four boundaries as the champion raced home with 29 deliveries to spare in a one-sided final.
Perry completed a remarkable all-round display with an unbeaten 31, having added 60 for the fourth wicket with Lanning.
Lanning said it was “almost the perfect match” for her team. “It’s amazing to win this and great to be able to play so well,” she said. “It was almost the perfect match today. The bowlers did it for us. We had our plans and executed them well. Even while chasing a small total we wanted to be positive.
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“I’m really happy right now. We have a lot of experience even though we are young and we can build something really big. We have a great core of players.”
England captain Charlotte Edwards admitted her team was outplayed by Australia.
“They bowled very well and they came out and batted good,” she said. “We were just not good enough today. We never got going and kept losing wickets at key stages. 105 was never going to be enough in a World Cup final. I am just bitterly disappointed we could not get over the line.”
England medium-pacer Anya Shrubsole was named as the Women’s Player of the Tournament.
The scores: England 105 for eight in 20 overs (Heather Knight 29, Sarah Coyte three for 16, Ellyse Perry two for 13, Rene Farrell two for 27) lost to Australia 106 for four in 15.1 overs (Meg Lanning 44, Ellyse Perry 31 n.o.).