Photo: The West Indies Women celebrate their maiden World T-20 Championship win (Getty Images)
The West Indies Women ensured that their maiden appearance in a World Twenty20 final will be one they will always remember, when they defeated three-time defending champions Australia for the first time in a T20 International in Kolkata on Sunday.
Half-centuries from Elyse Villani and Meg Lanning helped Australia post an imposing 148 for 5 forcing the Windies women to pull off the second highest chase in the tournament’s history to lift the trophy.
The defending champions seemed comfortable with the score on the board, but when Hayley Matthews and Captain Stafanie Taylor started unfurling boundary after boundary the pressure began to build on Australia.
A brilliant knock of 66 from 18-year old Matthews and 59 from Taylor set the tone with a 120 runs partnership that came at more than a run a ball paving the way for a famous victory that dethroned the favourites and defending champions.’
The Player-of-the-match went to Matthews, who expressed delight after her team’s victory.
“It was great to knock off such a good score to win the tournament, it was always going to be a hard total,” Matthews said.
Another major contributor was Deandra Dottin who had been central to West Indies’ march to the final. She got 18 not out with the bat along with 2-33 with the ball.
Heading into the final over, West Indies had two runs to get off four balls, and when Britney Cooper pushed to Megan Schutt at midwicket and sprinted the Aussies had a chance of a run out but in ended up in overthrows, giving the team victory by eight wickets, as the ladies celebrated a historic triumph in style.
Taylor – who was named Player of the Tournament for her 256 runs with bat and with the white ball she finished as the second most successful bowler behind Leigh Kasperek, Sophie Devine and Deandra Dottin (nine wickets apiece) with eight scalps.
“I don’t think it has sunk in yet. When we wake up in the morning it’s going to be like is it real a trophy. I will ask myself is this real. When we touch down at the Caribbean that’s when it’s going to hit you. A lot of people with cameras you will realise that you have won the World Cup,” Taylor noted in her post match interview
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