Australia Women defeated West Indies Women by 157 runs in the first semifinal of ICC Women’s CWC 2022, reduced to 45 overs per side due to the rain at Basin Reserve stadium in Wellington.
Australia posted a massive total of 305/3 on the back of Alyssa Healy’s exceptional hundred combined with Rachael Haynes’s 85 runs. Lanning and Beth Mooney, too, were sensational in the death overs for the Australian Women’s team.
West Indies Women had no chance of chasing the colossal total in 45 overs due to the inconsistent form of their players in the tournamnet.
Here’s how the match turned out:
Stefanie Taylor won the toss and opted to bowl first, keeping in mind that the Duckworth Lewis system might probably play a role in the result if the rain had struck again.
Invited to bat first, Australia Women seemed determined to register their dominance from the very beginning. The duo of Healy and Haynes formed a gigantic 216 runs stand for the first wicket to take the game away from the Caribbeans.
Alyssa Healy scored 129 off 107, including 17 fours and a six. In the latter part of the innings, Meg Lanning and Mooney remained unbeaten on 26* and 43* respectively, to power the Australian inning beyond 300. Chinelle Henry was the only bowler who posed a few threats to the Australians. She picked up two wickets in her 9 overs for 51 runs.
Chasing a mammoth 305, West Indies Women were never in contention to win the match. The Caribbeans self-destructed to wrap up the innings on a paltry 148 in 37 overs. Jess Jonassen picked 2 wickets while five other bowlers picked one wicket each in the semifinal.
Australia Women will play the final on 3rd April 2022 against the winner of the clash between South Africa Women and England Women in the 2nd semifinal of the tournament.
Also read: Top 10 Memorable Moments in Australian Cricket by Cricreads