Australia 106 for 2 (Gardner 33*, Lanning 28*) beat England 105 (Wyatt 43, Knight 25, Gardner 3-22, Wareham 2-11) by eight wickets
(ESPN) Australia have never lost to England in a cup final, and that record will now stay at least till the next world event in 2020. Meg Lanning’s side romped to their fourth World T20 crown with an eight-wicket vanquishing of England on the grandest stage of them all at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua.
As was the case four years ago in Bangladesh – when the sides last met in a World T20 final – England limped to 105. In Mirpur, Australia blasted the runs in 15.4 overs then. Here, they were a tad faster, taking three balls lesser, albeit on a slow surface. On the face of heavy dew that completely negated England’s spin threat, run scoring was not really a bother.
Alyssa Healy, somewhat made up for multiple lapses behind the stumps, to set the tone for the chase with a 20-ball 22, including 14 off the first over by Anya Shrubsole. She finished the tournament as the leading run-getter; her 225 runs despite playing one innings fewer than the next best. This also made her the undisputed choice for Player of the Tournament.
