Australia’s dominant and winning records in the Finals of showpiece events remained untouched as they handed a 19-run victory against South Africa at the Newlands Cricket Ground. The Southern Stars won the toss and decided to bat first.
Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney gave Australia a brisk start, but the opening spell of Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail was nothing short of phenomenal. South Africa got their first breakthrough when Kapp got rid of Healy courtesy of a soft dismissal. Joining Beth Mooney in the middle was Ashleigh Gardner, and the duo pummelled the Proteas bowling attack from the get-go. They batted through the Powerplay and ensured a good scoring rate through the middle overs as well, maximizing all the scoring opportunities. Chloe Tryon proved why she is an excellent aa rounder as she broke the partnership by dismissing Ashleigh Gardner for 29. Even as Australia kept the scoreboard ticking, the consecutive dismissals of Grace Harris and Meg Lanning for low scores were setbacks, but it was Beth Mooney who truly held the innings together with a brilliant 74 off 53, and this ensured Australia finished with 156/6 in their 20 overs. South Africa’s bowling which has always been their strength, stood out with their performance as the duo of Kapp and Ismail scalped 2 wickets and were ably supported by Nonkululeko Mlaba and Chloe Tryon also scalped a wicket each.
South Africa, in contrast, had a sluggish start as they struggled through the initial phase, and losing Tazmin Brits for a dismal 10 off 17 was not ideal. Marizanne Kapp was the next to fall as Ashleigh Gardner successfully outfoxed her. The run out of the skipper of Sune Luus further made the run chase complicated. But it was Chloe Tryon and Laura Wolvaardt who kept soldering on and kept the hopes alive for South Africa in spite of the soaring run rate needed for victory. Wolvaardt’s dismissal for a well-played 61 snowballed into the twin dismissals of Chloe Tryon and Anneke Bosch, who wilted under pressure, and the writing was clear on the wall. Requiring more than 20 in the last over, Nadine de Klerk and Sinalo Jafta tried their best but eventually succumbed to the express and incisive pace bowling of Megan Schutt, who paved the way for a famous 19 run victory.
🇦🇺Australia won by 19 runs
🇦🇺Australia: 156-6 (20)
Beth Mooney: 74* (53)
Ashleigh Gardner: 29 (21)
Shabnim Ismail: 2-26🇿🇦 South Africa: 137-6 (20)
Laura Wolvaardt: 61 (48)
Chloe Tryon: 25 (23)
Ashleigh Gardner: 1-20#CricketTwitter #T20WorldCup #SAvAUS pic.twitter.com/bl3g3eOcuk— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) February 26, 2023
Brief Scores: AUS- 156/6 in 20 overs (B Mooney 74*, A Gardner 29’ S Ismail 2/26, M Kapp 2/35) defeated SA- 137/6 in 20 overs (L Wolvaardt 61, C Tryon 25, M Kapp 11; A Gardner 1/20, J Jonassen 1/21, M Schutt 1/23) by 19 runs
Meg Lanning now holds Most ICC Titles as Captain 💛😍
Ricky Ponting: 4 Titles
MS Dhoni: 3 Titles#CricketTwitter #t20worldcupfinal pic.twitter.com/TaNQ9OWSS9— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) February 26, 2023
I am a first year postgraduate student pursuing a MA in Media and Communication Studies at Christ University, Bengaluru. I am a podcaster, blogger and an avid cricket fan. When not glued to cricket matches, you can find me submerged in books and thinking about cricket all the time.