The visitors, West Indies pulled off a world-record run chase (213/3) in the second T20I. They chased down a mammoth 213-run total on the back of a blockbuster innings from the West Indies skipper Hayley Matthews to complete the highest-ever successful run chase in T20Is in the history of women’s cricket to level the three-match series. England’s 199 against India at Brabourne Stadium in the year 2018 was the second-best run chase in the women’s T20Is.
The third T20I at the Allen Border Field in Brisbane eventually turned into a series decider. West Indies skipper Hayley Matthews won the toss and opted to field first in the third T20I. West Indies went unchanged, while the pace-bowling all-rounder Kim Garth replaced left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen in the playing 11 for the home side.
After being inserted to bat first, the Australian openers got off to a steady start but lost the wicket of Beth Mooney in the form of a run-out courtesy of a brilliant effort in the field by Zaida James in the second over of the innings. Tahlia McGrath joined skipper Alyssa Healy at the crease and the duo stitched an 18-run partnership for the second wicket. Aaliyah Alleyne provided the second breakthrough for the West Indies by dismissing the Australian skipper Alyssa Healy.
Ellyse Perry joined Tahlia McGrath at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 80-run partnership for the third wicket. Tahlia McGrath completed her seventh T20I half-century in just 25 balls, scoring at an impressive strike rate of 200 through the course of the partnership. Skipper Hayley Matthews got the massive wicket of Tahlia McGrath for a well-made 65, scoring at a strike rate of 191.17 to break the third wicket stand. She was looking in ominous touch during her stay at the crease.
The home side then lost a couple of wickets in quick succession to find themselves at 129/5 in the 15th over of the innings. Annabel Sutherland joined Phoebe Litchfield at the crease and the duo stitched a 49-run partnership for the sixth wicket. The 18-year-old left-arm spinner Zaida James cleaned up Annabel Sutherland to open her account in terms of wickets in the match. The home side eventually ended up with a total of 190/9 in their quota of overs.
Tahlia McGrath (65 off 34 balls) was the top performer with the bat for Australia, while, right-arm pacer Shamilia Connell (3/25) was the top performer with the ball for West Indies. Chasing a target of 191, the West Indies openers got off to a solid start, scoring almost nine runs per over in the first ten overs. West Indies skipper Hayley Matthews continued her dream run in the T20I series by notching up her 10th half-century in the T20I format. She also became the first player to score over 300 runs in a three-match T20I series.
Just when the skipper was trying to put the foot on the accelerator, she got deceived by the slower delivery from Darcie Brown as she miscued her lofted shot straight to Phoebe Litchfield to provide Australia their first breakthrough to end the 97-run opening stand. With the required rate still over ten runs per over, the West Indies batters failed to keep their calm as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Excellent fight from West Indies, but in the end 🇦🇺 Australia takes the series home!#CricketTwitter #AUSvWI | 📸: Getty pic.twitter.com/avM26JrpqL
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 5, 2023
West Indies were eventually bundled out for 143, falling 47 runs short of the target. The visitors suffered a massive collapse as they lost their last nine wickets for just 46 runs, conceding a massive opportunity to upset the world champions by defeating them in the T20I series. Skipper Hayley Matthews was the top performer (79 off 40 balls) with the bat for West Indies. The 20-year-old pacer Darcie Brown (3/20) was the top performer with the ball for Australia. This was her career-best figures in the T20I format.
𝐀 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚! 🇦🇺
They seal a convincing 47-run victory and secure the series! 🙌#CricketTwitter #AUSvWI | 📸: Getty pic.twitter.com/x2p9mhaSTQ
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 5, 2023
West Indies skipper Hayley Matthews (79 off 40 balls) and (1/34) with the ball was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant performance in the match. She was also awarded the Player of the Series for her brilliant performances, scoring 310 runs with the bat and picking up five wickets with the ball right through the series despite ending up on the losing side.
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐕𝐏 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭! 🤩
Hayley Matthews stole the show with her incredible performance. 👏#CricketTwitter #AUSvWI | 📸: Getty pic.twitter.com/QQWspnTFlx
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 5, 2023
Loves all things female cricket