Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, Jess Jonassen hand clinical Australia fifth T20 World Cup title
India came undone in the face of a spectacular onslaught in front of an MCG crowd of 86,174
India came undone in the face of a spectacular onslaught in front of an MCG crowd of 86,174
Scorer: Chandan Duorah | Commentator: Varun Shetty
9:39pm Lanning sprints across to take the trophy from Belinda Clark. Here they are: Australia - the women's T20 champions. They're belting out the team song. The perfect match for them. And a pretty damn good tournament this one, the bar keeps rising in women's cricket. We've had a lovely time covering it - we're not done of course, watch out for the pieces from our writers at the ground. But from commentary, this is Varun signing out on behalf of Alex and Chandan.
Meg Lanning: I'm just really proud of this group of players and staff. We've had everything thrown at us, ups and downs. It was tough, definitely, especially after we lost that first game. There was a lot of expectation on us, inside and out. Definitely some tough times in there but we stuck with each other, had each other's backs. Coming in they [the injured players] were a big part of our plans, we had to go to Plan B and C. It's been massive, 86000 people at the MCG, i've never seen it before and didn't think I'd be part of it in the middle.
9:34pm Kaur walks off to applause and now the Australian team step up for their medals.
Harmanpreet Kaur: The way we played in the league games was outstanding. Today it was unfortunate that we dropped those catches. I still have a lot of faith in my team. The upcoming one-and-a-half years is very important. We need to focus, especially in fielding. But I trust this team. It's part of the game, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. You have to keep learning. [The eight day break] Sometimes it does happen, but we spent a lot of time together which is important for us. This is part of the game, sometimes you don't get games on schedule. If we talk about the last T20 World Cup, we got to the semis, and this time to the final. I think we're on the right path. Every year we are improving. We just need to think of how we play with focus in the main games. Sometimes we don't manage that. This year we are hoping for some more games in the Women's Challenger, that tournament is very important for us because it is high quality. From there we already got two good players, and hopefully in the upcoming tournaments we can get more.
9:29pm India's players walk on to collect their respective runners-up medals to loud applause from the crowd.
Beth Mooney: I'm a bit lost for words. It's been an unbelievable tournament. The crowds have been great throughout the tournament. [Playing spin] Didn't really do anything differently. We had some plans that we didn't execute in that first game [against India]. I'm just very fortunate and grateful to be given the opportunities I've been given by Cricket Australia.
Beth Mooney is the Player of the Tournament.
Alyssa Healy: That was unbelievable, thank you everyone. You cannot wipe the smile off the my place. Even if we lost this game. I never thought I would get this opportunity. It was something really special. I go out there and take my game on, it's the nature of my game. Just feeding off the crowd tonight was something different for us tonight. Moons was sensational tonight, she sort of got off strike and let me do my thing. We're having a lot of fun at the top and hopefully we can stay together at the top a little bit longer.
Alyssa Healy is the Player of the Match.
9:18pm Contrasting emotions all around, as expected. Shafali Verma being consoled by her team-mates. The 16-year-old has become a genuine new star in the women's game over the course of this tournament. Realistically in the hunt to finish top-scorer, even Player of the Tournament, coming into this game. She dropped a catch in the first over and couldn't get past the first over in the chase. Heartbroken right now, but definitely one of the best things to come out of this campaign for India. Stand by for presentations...
Jack: "All right male side, the marker has been laid! Congrats to Australia tonight. They have played the perfect T20 game in their history. Credit to India for the brave and youthful energy they have provided. They will be back for sure"
Shashank: "Hats off to the Indian ladies for making everyone stand up and take notice. In a country where none of the Indian players are even known by almost anyone, we need to support and applaud them for getting to the final. Hard luck today but a big step this year towards being world beaters. "
Emanuel Raj: "The thing I Liked about Australian team(both Men's and Women's) is the execution of their plans. It's one thing doing the homework and it's another thing to execute it under pressure. Which I think is quality of a Champion Side. It's the difference between the two team today."
Dave: "Well done Australia, deserving champions. Schutt for player of the tournament?"
Tasmeem: "Carnage with both bat and ball. Congrats to the Australian ladies. What a performance!"
Calitha: "It's been a superb tournament all round. So many new players to follow and some very, very good cricket. Here's hoping that the ICC and the boards around the world see there's value in promoting women's cricket."
9:06pm Champions for the fifth time! And they have looked it from the first ball of this match. A record crowd for women's cricket, a record crowd for a women's sporting event in Australia. More than 86,000 people showed up to watch this absolute champion side tonight, and they have decimated their opponents. An 85-run win against the team that had put them in a very precarious position after their first match of the tournament. They wobbled in their second one too, but they've picked themselves up and been perfect in the final. Not a chance for India, not once, tonight. They're huddled up, looking somber. It's been a perfect campaign until tonight. They were blown away by Alyssa Healy at the start and made mistakes from which they got no time at all to recover from. You don't get that in a World Cup final, unfortunately. But there are players in this team that will last another generation, and they will have more matches like this. One way or another, they've been part of a game-changing event for women's cricket. A massive night for the game. A lot of kids have new heroes tonight.
Poonam Yadav c Gardner b Schutt 1 (5b 0x4 0x6) SR: 20.00
And now here is Megan Schutt, top wicket taker of the 2020 Women's World Cup.
End of a fantastic spell from one of Australia's top performers over the last few months.
Hugs already in the Australian dugout. Any minute now...
Former India captain says the tournament can unearth new Indian talent that can help the team win world trophies
From the most sixes hit in a single tournament to record totals, the 2020 tournament had everything
'We were not able to create those chances,' Harmanpreet Kaur said after the match
India were rattled, and of that Australia were convinced, when Healy recounted her send-off to the dugout
This was a shattering of records, boundaries and ceilings. The contest was up early, the occasion will live on.