Women World T20 finals: Australia wins toss, elects to bat

Australia has won the World T20 championships three times while England won the inaugural edition in 2009.

Australian captain Meg Lanning won the toss and elected to bat first in the Women World T20 championship final on Sunday at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Teams (from):

Australia: Meg Lanning (capt.), Kristen Beams, Alex Blackwell, Nicola Carey, Lauren Cheatle, Sarah Coyte, Rene Farrell, Holly Ferling, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney, Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani. Coach: Matthew Mott

West Indies: Stafanie Taylor (capt.), Merissa Aguilleira, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Stacy-Ann King, Kyshona Knight, Kycia Knight, Hayley Matthews, Anisa Mohammed, Shaquana Quintyne, Shakera Selman, Tremayne Smartt. Coach: Vasbert Drakes.

The West Indies women team who are on a roll will be meeting the defending champions Australia in the final.

It will be a familiar territory for Australia, entering the finals for the fourth time in succession, while for West Indies women the stage is a new territory.

Australia has won the World T20 championships three times while England won the inaugural edition in 2009.

The only time both sides have met in the final of a global event was at the 2013 World Cup in Mumbai, where Australia was the runaway winners, by 114 runs.

Australia are unbeaten in T20Is against West Indies, with their head-to-head record an impressive 8-0.

Route to the finals

Australia, despite being defeated by New Zealand by 6 wickets, had won their matches convincingly against South Africa by 6 wickets, Sri Lanka by 9 wickets and Ireland by 7 wickets. In the semifinals, > Australia thwarted a spirited England by just five runs.

On the other hand, West Indies women had defeated Pakistan by 4 runs, India by 3 runs and Bangladesh by 49 runs. West Indies women lost to England by 1 wicket in the group stages. West Indies managed to scrape through to the finals by > defeating New Zealand in the semifinals by 6 runs.

Interestingly, both the losing semifinalists, New Zealand and England have an unbeaten record in the group stages.

Women to watch out for

Australia: Meg Lanning and Megan Schutt.

West Indies: Stephanie Taylor and Britney Cooper.

The final will be the first women's game at Eden Gardens this tournament, but if the league stage of the men's competition is an indicator, there will be turn on offer. An afternoon start means there will be no dew, and the toss is unlikely to have that big an impact on the result.

Form guide (last five completed matches, most recent first)

Australia: WWWLW

West Indies: WWLWW