| Commonwealth Games T20 Gold Medal, Edgbaston: |
| Australia 161-8 (20+): Mooney 61 (41 goals), Lanning 36 (26 goals) |
| India 152 (19.3 times): Harmanpreet 65 (43 goals), Rodriguez 33 (33 goals) |
| Australia wins by nine points |
| Score card |
Australia continued to dominate women’s cricket, clinching Commonwealth Games gold with a thrilling nine-round victory over India at Edgbaston.
The success completes a beautiful quadruple for Meg Lanning’s side after winning women’s ashes and a World Cup win in both the 20 and 50+ formats.
Beth Mooney had a 61 to give Australia a 161-8 lead in the round of 20.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s stunning 65 gave India hope, but her dismissal sparked a meltdown that saw them all out for 152.
New Zealand wins bronze beat England by eight wickets earlier in the day.
This is the first time women’s cricket has appeared at the Commonwealth Games.
Australian batsman Tahlia McGrath was cleared for the final despite testing positive for Covid-19 before the game.
Cricket Australia said medical staff had implemented a “comprehensive set of protocols” to minimise the risk of transmission to other players and officials.
Despite Alyssa Healy’s seven early losses, Australia got off to a good start, leading 83-1 after 10 rounds.
But Captain Lanning was dismissed for 36 points thanks to an excellent defense by Radha Yadav, who flicked the ball back on a stump to knock her out at the non-forward end.
Australia’s innings were then anchored by Mooney with 41 of her 61 deliveries before she was dismissed by Deepti Sharma’s stunning one-handed catch in the abyss with 16 balls remaining.
India were reduced to 22-2 in their replies, but a fine 96-run partnership between skippers Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues raised hopes of an upset.
Going into 15th, they were level with Australia in scoring, but Rodriguez and Harman Pritt lost back-to-back and India saw their chances of winning fade away.
They have been fighting and reaching the final, needing 11 runs to win with two wickets remaining.
But Meghna Singh ran out on the second ball and Yastika Bhatia was stuck lbw on the next pitch, sparking jubilant scenes as the Australian players celebrated gold to add to their extraordinary honour.