The 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Final was a day/night

Women's Twenty20 International Women's Twenty20 international (WT20I) is the shortest form of women's international cricket. A women's Twenty20 international is a 20 overs-per-side cricket match between two of the International Cricket Council (ICC) members. The very firs ...

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

match played on 8 March 2020 between

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. It was the culmination of the

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup The 2020 Women's T20 World Cup was the seventh Women's T20 World Cup tournament. It was held in Australia between 21 February and 8 March 2020. The 2020 Women's T20 World Cup final, final took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Internati ...

, the seventh of the tournament history since it started in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. Australia won the match by 85 runs, securing their fifth T20 World Cup title. This was the first time that India had reached the final. Alyssa Healy playing for the Sydney Sixers

Alyssa Healy playing for the Sydney Sixers

After winning the toss, Australian captain

Meg Lanning Meghann Moira Lanning (born 25 March 1992) is an Australian cricketer who formerly captained the national women's team. Lanning has been a member of seven successful world championship campaigns, winning two Women's Cricket World Cup and five ...

elected to bat first. Her side posted 184 runs for the loss of four

wickets In the sport of cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is either of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at each end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a ...

from 20 overs.

Beth Mooney Bethany Louise Mooney (born 14 January 1994) is an Australian professional cricketer who plays for the Australia women's national cricket team, national cricket team as a batting (cricket), batter in all three formats of the game. At the domes ...

top scored for Australia with 78

not out In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at ...

with her opening partner

Alyssa Healy Alyssa Jean Healy (born 24 March 1990) is an Australian cricketer who plays for and captains the Australian women's national team. She also plays for New South Wales in domestic cricket, as well as the Sydney Sixers in the WBBL and captains ...

setting up the innings with 75 from 39 balls.

Deepti Sharma Deepti Sharma (born 24 August 1997) is an Indian cricketer who plays for Uttar Pradesh, UP Warriorz, London Spirit, Melbourne Stars and India. She is an all-rounder who bats left-handed and bowls right-arm off break. As of 2018, she was ranke ...

took two wickets for India, while

Poonam Yadav Poonam Yadav (born 24 August 1991) is an Indian cricketer who plays for the national women's cricket team as a leg-spin bowler. She made her debut in International cricket on 5 April 2013 in a Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) match again ...

and

Radha Yadav Radha Yadav (born 21 April 2000) is an Indian cricketer. She plays for Mumbai, Baroda and West zone. She has played 4 First-class, 13 List A and 16 Women's Twenty20 matches. She made her debut in major domestic cricket on 10 January 2015 aga ...

took one apiece. In reply, Australia found early wickets, restricting India to 4/30 after the six-over powerplay. All-rounder Sharma showed some resistance to Australia's attack, managing 33 from 25; however, the final four wickets fell for 7 runs off 13 balls, with India all out in 19.1 overs for 99 runs. Megan Schutt led the Australian bowlers with four wickets, followed by

Jess Jonassen Jessica Louise Jonassen (born 5 November 1992) is an Australian cricketer from Rockhampton, Rockhampton, Queensland. A left-arm orthodox Bowler (cricket), bowler, Jonassen has been a member of the Australia women's national cricket team, nationa ...

with three. Healy was named the

player of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

, and Mooney was named player of the tournament.

Background

The 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup started on 21 February and was hosted by

. The ten teams that qualified for the tournament were split into two pools and played each other once in a round-robin format. The top two teams from each pool advanced to the semi-finals. Both semi-final matches were scheduled to be played at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...

on 5 March 2020.

, who finished the first in Pool A, were the first to make the final with their match against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

being abandoned due to rain. A rain-affected second-semi final saw hosts

narrowly defeat

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

by five runs. This was Australia's sixth consecutive Women's T20 World Cup finals appearance, dating back to

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and they were seeking to become the first host team to be crowned champions since England in

. In November 2019, it was announced that

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

would perform both before and after the match. Perry performed two songs before the match, "

Roar A roar is a type of animal vocalization that is loud, deep and resonating. Many mammals have evolved to produce roars and other roar-like vocals for purposes such as long-distance communication and intimidation. These include various species of ...

" and "

Firework Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

Roads to the final

Route to the final

Source:

Group stage

On 21 February,

n women's team beat defending champions

by 17 runs in the first match of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup played at the Sydney ground. Batting first, Indian team scored 132 runs in the loss of four wickets in 20 overs. The team of Australia could score 115 runs in 19.5 overs. For the host team,

scored an innings of 51 runs with the help of six fours and a six off 35 balls. India Leg-spinner

took four wickets for 19 runs in four overs. On 24 February, Indian team winning campaign continues in the Women's T20 World Cup. Indian team defeated

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

by 18 runs in their second match. With this win, they was reached the top in Group A. Bangladesh captain

Salma Khatun Salma Khatun (; born 1 October 1990) is a Bangladeshi cricketer who plays for the Bangladesh women's national cricket team, Bangladesh cricket team. She plays as right-handed Batting (cricket), batter and right-arm off spin, off break Bowling ( ...

won the toss & chose bowling for her team. Batting first, India scored 142 in the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs. Chasing the target, Bangladesh were able to score 124 runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs.

Shafali Verma Shafali Verma (born 28 January 2004) is an Indian cricketer who plays for the women's national cricket team. In 2019, at the age of 15, she became the youngest cricketer to play in a Women's Twenty20 International (T20I) match for India. In Jun ...

was adjudged Player of the Match. For India,

took 3 wickets for 18 runs. Apart from her,

Arundhati Reddy Arundhati Reddy (born 10 April 1997) is an Indian cricketer. Career In August 2018, Reddy was named in the India Women's squad for their series against the Sri Lanka Women. She made her Women's Twenty20 International cricket debut against Sri ...

took 2 for 33,

Shikha Pandey Squadron Leader Shikha Pandey (born 12 May 1989) is an Indian cricketer and former officer in the Indian Air Force. She plays for the India women's national cricket team, national cricket team as a right-arm medium pacer and middle-order batter, ...

2 for 14 and

Rajeshwari Gayakwad Rajeshwari Gayakwad (born 1 June 1991) is an Indian cricketer. She plays as a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. She made her debut for India in a One Day International against Sri Lanka on 19 January 2014. Personal life She started playing seriou ...

took one wicket for 25 runs. On 27 February, Team India had reached the semi-finals of the World Cup after defeating

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

by 3 runs. With this, Team India reached the semi-finals of the World Cup for the fourth time. Earlier, India had reached to the semi-finals in 2009, 2010 and 2018. Chasing the target of 134 runs, the Kiwi team was able to score 130 runs in the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs. For India opener

scored a blistering 46 runs, her outstanding performance of 16-year-old Shefali won the Player of the Match award for the second time in a row. Indian team scored 133 runs in 20 overs after losing the toss against New Zealand.

Match

Match officials

On 6 March 2020, the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...

(ICC) named New Zealand's

Kim Cotton Kim Cotton (born 24 February 1978) is a New Zealand cricket umpire. In August 2018, she stood in matches in the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 East Asia-Pacific Qualifier tournament, and the following month was added to the Development Panel of IC ...

and Pakistan's

Ahsan Raza Ahsan Raza (born 29 May 1974) is a Pakistani cricket umpire and former cricketer. In November 2020, in the second Twenty20 International (T20I) between Pakistan and Zimbabwe, he officiated in his 50th T20I match as an on-field umpire, becoming ...

as the on-field umpires, with West Indian Gregory Brathwaite as the

third umpire The third umpire (or TV Umpire) is an off- field umpire used in some cricket matches, particularly international matches. Their role is to make the final decision in questions referred to them by the two on-field umpires or the players. The ...

, Zimbabwe's

Langton Rusere Langton Rusere (born 7 July 1985) is a Zimbabwean cricket umpire. He stood in his first Twenty20 International match, between Zimbabwe and India, on 19 July 2015. He officiated in his first One Day International match when Zimbabwe played Afgh ...

as the reserve umpire, and Chris Broad of England named as

match referee A match referee is an official appointed to oversee professional cricket matches. Match referees for Test matches and One Day Internationals are appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Most matches below international level do not ...

Teams

Both teams were unchanged from their previous matches in the tournament.

Australia innings

The opening pairing of

and

put on a century partnership of 115 runs before Healy was dismissed for 75. Both opening batters were dropped early in the innings. Indian youngster

dropped

in the very first over of Australia's innings.

struck in the 17th over, taking the wickets of skipper

for 16 and

Ashleigh Gardner Ashleigh Katherine Gardner (born 15 April 1997) is an Australian cricketer who currently plays for the national women's team as an all-rounder. A right-handed batter and right-arm off spinner, Gardner also plays for New South Wales in the Wome ...

for 2.

Rachael Haynes Rachael Louise Haynes (born 26 December 1986) is an Australian former international cricketer who has won six world championships as a member of the national women's team. A left-handed batter, Haynes was vice-captain of Australia from 2017 to ...

could only manage four runs before being dismissed in the 18th over. Mooney and

Nicola Carey Nicola Jane Carey (born 10 September 1993) is an Australian cricketer who plays for the national cricket team as an all-rounder, batting left-handed and bowling right-arm medium pace. At the domestic level, she plays in the Women's National Cri ...

remained not out, moving Australia's total to 184 for 4. Mooney top-scored the innings with 78 runs, and with an overall World Cup total of 259 runs, she set the record for the most runs scored in a Women's T20 World Cup.

India innings

Pursuing a tremendous total of 185 runs,

got off to a bad start and lost four wickets inside the powerplay overs. India would never recuperate from the early blows and were bowled out for 99 runs in 19.1 overs.

Match details

* Toss: Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. * Result: Australia won by 85 runs. Key * * –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

* –

Wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...

* c ''Fielder'' – Indicates that the batsman was dismissed by a catch by the named fielder * b ''Bowler'' – Indicates which bowler gains credit for the dismissal * lbw – Indicates the batsman was dismissed

leg before wicket Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a Batting (cricket), batter can be dismissal (cricket), dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an Appeal (cricket), appeal by the Fielding (cricket), fielding side, the umpire (cricket), ...

Attendance record

The match was played on

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

and the attendance was 86,174. This set several records including the largest for a women's cricket match, breaking the estimated 50–60,000 who witnessed the 1997 Cricket World Cup final at

Eden Gardens Eden Gardens is an international cricket stadium in Kolkata (Calcutta), India. Established in 1864, it is the oldest and second-largest cricket stadium in India and third-largest in the world. The stadium currently has a capacity of 68,000. ...

; the largest for a men's or women's

ICC T20 World Cup The ICC Men's T20 World Cup, formerly the ICC World Twenty20, is a biennial world cup for cricket in Twenty20 International (T20I) format, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was held in every odd year from 2007 to 2009, ...

final, exceeding the 66,000 that attended the 2016 ICC Men's World Twenty20 Final at

; the largest for a women's sporting event in Australia, surpassing the 53,034 at the

Adelaide Oval The Adelaide Oval is a stadium in Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Parklands, parklands. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, ...

for the

2019 AFL Women's Grand Final The 2019 AFL Women's Grand Final was an Australian rules football match held at Adelaide Oval on 31 March 2019 to determine the List of AFL Women's premiers, premiers of the league's 2019 AFL Women's season, third season. Admission was free to ...

; and the largest for a final of the Women's T20 World Cup, eclipsing the 12,717 in attendance for the 2009 decider at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

. Organisers had hoped to beat the attendance of the

women's association football Women's association football, more commonly known as women's football or women's soccer, is the team sport of association football played by women. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries, and about 200 national teams partic ...

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Final The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup final was an soccer match that took place on July 10, 1999, to determine the winner of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. The host United States and China played to a scoreless draw following double golden goal extra ...

of 90,185, but failed. The largest women's sport attendance was 110,000 at the 1971 women's football World Cup final in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Aftermath

Following the tournament, Australia's

became the new number-one ranked cricketer for batting in the

ICC Women's Rankings The International Cricket Council player rankings is a widely followed system of rankings for international cricketers based on their recent performances. Currently 10 teams are considered for ''WODI'' ranking whereas for ''WT20I'' it includes ...

in WT20I cricket. India's

had previously been ranked at the top, when India reached the semi-finals of the tournament. However, after only scoring two runs in the final, Verma dropped down to third place, with

Suzie Bates Suzannah Wilson Bates (born 16 September 1987) is a New Zealand cricketer and former captain of national women cricket team. Born in Dunedin, she plays domestic cricket for the Otago Sparks, as well as for the White Ferns. She currently holds t ...

of New Zealand retaining second spot. A selection panel named its team of the tournament, with five Australians in the squad ( Healy, Mooney,

Lanning Lanning is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Andy Lanning, British comic book writer and artist *Dan Lanning (born 1986), American college football coach for the University of Oregon *Dave Lanning, English sports commentator *Fra ...

, Jonassen and Schutt). India's

made the final XI, with Shafali Verma named as 12th woman The rest of the squad had four players from England ( Sciver,

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

, Ecclestone and Shrubsole) and one from South Africa ( Wolvaardt).

References

Citations

External links

Series home at ESPNcricinfo
{{DEFAULTSORT:ICC

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

2020 in Australian cricket 2020 in women's cricket

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Australia women's national cricket team matches India women's national cricket team matches International cricket competitions in 2019–20 International women's cricket competitions in Australia ICC 2020s in Melbourne 2020 in Victoria (state) Cricket in Melbourne Melbourne Cricket Ground