Beth Mooney stars as Australia crush West Indies to reach record eighth Women's T20 World Cup final

Australia claimed a thumping win over West Indies by 8 wickets in their semifinal clash at the ongoing ICC Women's T20 World Cup on Tuesday, June 30 at the Kennington Oval in London. While chasing an easy target of 126 runs in the second innings, star wicketkeeper batter Beth Mooney played an outstanding knock of unbeaten 61 runs to guide Australia reach the final of the tournament.

Flop batting display from West Indies

Winning the toss, Australia captain Sophie Molineux invited the Caribbean side to bat first. Unfortunately, it was not a good toss to lose for the West Indies, as they endured a disappointing batting performance as Australia exposed their vulnerable batting line-up. Opener Qiana Joseph was struggling to get through, as he scored a rusty knock of 16 runs off 22 balls before Sophie picked her wicket.

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However, Hayley Matthews tried to take control of the innings with her calm 30 off 28 but could not last long, as she got removed by Georgia Wareham. Coming to bat at No.3 Shemaine Campbelle could not contribute much with the bat, as she was removed by Wareham. West Indies endured another collapse with Stafanie Taylor and Jahzara Claxton losing their wickets without opening their account. Towards the end, Deandra Dottin managed to put some runs on the board with her quick cameo of 26 runs off just 16 deliveries, hitting four boundaries at a strike rate of 162.50. However Dottin's efforts were not enough as West Indies managed to score only 125/7.

Australia's brilliance in the second innings

Despite losing Georgia Voll early in the second innings who scored 16 off 11 balls before getting removed by Chinelle Henry, Australia remained unfazed, as Beth Mooney took charge of the innings, scoring at an aggressive manner. West Indies sparked hopes of a mini-comeback with the clinching quick wicket of Phoebe Litchfield on a personal score of 4 off 5 balls.

Unfortunately, Ellyse Perry was retired out because of an injury when she was batting on 2 runs off 7 balls. However, things remained stable for the Aussies as Ashleigh Gardner contributed with unbeaten 35 runs off 20 balls, hitting four boundaries and one six. Mooney finished the game with an unbeaten knock of 61 off 36, guiding Australia to reach the final of Women's T20 World Cup for the record eighth time.