Australia 127 for 2 (Mooney 61*, Gardner 35*) beat West Indies 125 for 7 (Matthews 30, Dottin 26*, Gardner 2-13, Wareham 2-17, Molineux 2-30) by eight wickets

Chasing just 126, Mooney’s unbeaten 61 off 36 balls eased Australia to victory with a massive seven overs to spare. It wasn’t all easy from their point of view, with Ellyse Perry, the most in-form batter in the tournament after England opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge, retiring hurt with a quadricep issue.

West Indies had only beaten Australia twice in 19 T20Is heading into this match, which proved to be the mismatch many feared on the basis of Australia’s unbeaten path to the knockouts while West Indies snuck in after two defeats and relying on England to eliminate New Zealand.

Dottin drama

From there, Dottin reeled off a 16-ball 26 including four fours, her best innings of the tournament and West Indies’ second-best for the day behind Hayley Matthews, raising questions over how bad things might have been for them had she not recovered in time.

WI squander steady start

With Dottin uncertain to bat, Matthews needed desperately to find the batting form that had deserted her since scoring 48 in West Indies’ opening match. Matthews was on 27 when she pulled Kim Garth’s last ball of the powerplay towards short third, a tough chance bursting through the hands of Lucy Hamilton and was travelling at a decent clip while Qiana Joseph chewed through 16 balls for 6 runs by the end of the powerplay.

Joseph survived when Georgia Voll put down a straightforward catch at deep midwicket and she finally looked set to get going when she sent an Annabel Sutherland offcutter into the seats beyond long-on. But then Wareham entered the attack in the ninth over and immediately rattled Matthews’ exposed stumps as she sidestepped for an ill-conceived lap and paid the price. West Indies head coach Shane Deitz winced and put his head in his hands as the wicket fell, sparking a collapse of four wickets for 12 runs in the space of 17 balls.

Gardner digs out danger

Gardner came on to bowl immediately after the powerplay and conceded just two runs off her first over before a double-wicket maiden in her second. In that time, she took the valuable wicket of Stafanie Taylor for a second-ball duck with a slower ball that found a leading edge straight to a waiting Garth at midwicket. Jahzara Claxton then advanced to the third ball she faced and chipped to Molineux at cover to depart for nought amid that costly collapse for West Indies.

No Perry, no problem – for now

After Perry headed off for medical assessment having scored two in seven balls, Mooney and Gardner settled into an unbroken stand worth 63 off 37 deliveries. Mooney struck eight fours on her way to an eighth half-century at T20 World Cups, equalling newly retired New Zealand legend Suzie Bates’ record for the history of the tournament. Mooney brought up her fifty with punch through midwicket for one off Matthews and Gardner, fresh from an unbeaten half-century of her own against India on Sunday – her second fifty of the tournament – struck the winning runs with a four through square leg. Gardner finished on 35 not out off 20.