Australia emphatically swept to their fifth women's Twenty20 World Cup title yesterday, crushing India by 85 runs in front of more than 86,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Alyssa Healy smashed a quick-fire 75 and Beth Mooney an unbeaten 78 as the defending champions made 184 for four - the highest score ever in a women's T20 final. India could only manage 99 all out in reply to end a 17-day tournament that reinforced the dominance of the Aussies, who have now won five of the seven World Cups held.
"I'm just really proud of this group of players," said skipper Meg Lanning. "There was a lot of expectation on us. Definitely some tough times in there, but we stuck with each other, had each other's backs."
The blockbuster showdown between the world's top-ranked team and fast-improving India was billed as the biggest in women's cricket history. A #FilltheMCG campaign was launched to help bring the sport to a new generation and fans responded with 86,174 attending, despite fears about the deadly coronavirus.
They just fell short of the world record for a women's sporting fixture - set at the 1999 football World Cup final when 90,185 watched the United States beat China in California.
"It's been massive, 86,000 people at the MCG," said Lanning. "I've never seen it before and didn't think I'd be part of it in the middle."
The huge turnout was helped by the lure of pop superstar Katy Perry, who performed before and after the showpiece game.
Captain Meg Lanning leads Australia's title celebration in Melbourne. GETTY IMAGES
