Sripali Weerakkody celebrates after getting the wicket of Meg Lanning in the ICC Women’s World Cup match between Sri Lanka and Australia at Cricket Club of India in Mumbai on Sunday. Australia won the game by nine wickets.

Australia continued its winning ways at the ICC Women’s World Cup after securing a nine-wicket win against Sri Lanka and a place in its eighth ICC Women’s World Cup final. Win or lose against the West Indies on 13 February, Jodie Fields’ team will appear in the final of the ICC Women’s World Cup to be held at the Cricket Club of India on 17 February.

At CCI, in front of a lively local crowd, Australia won the toss and put Sri Lanka into bat and Fields’ bowling attack was clinical in their approach, dismissing Sri Lanka for just 131 off 45.2 overs.

The Sri Lankan batting downfall started early when pacer Megan Schutt cleaned up Yasoda Mendis in the fifth over. The side’s innings never really got going as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The only batter to offer some resistance was Deepika Rasangika who tried to take the attack to the bowlers striking seven fours in her 43. Her 49-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Dilani Manodara (21) was the highest of the innings.

Off-spinner Erin Osborne did the damage in the middle-order taking three wickets. She finished with superb figures of 10-6-9-3 including 54 dot balls. Along with Manodara, she also dismissed the dangerous Eshani Kaushalya, who was brilliantly caught at mid-wicket by Alex Blackwell.

In reply, Australia looked like they were playing on a different pitch to the one the Sri Lankans had started the day on, as openers Meg Lanning (37) and Rachael Haynes (71 not out) put on 55 in under 10 overs before Lanning was out, edging a ball to slip, off the bowling of Sripali Weerakkody.

Haynes was then joined by Jess Cameron as they finished off the match with more than 27 overs to spare to win by nine wickets and secure Australia its place in its eighth Women’s World Cup final.

With regards to the win, Fields was complimentary of her Sri Lankan opponents: “We spoke about how much Sri Lanka had improved ahead of this game and how we wanted to emulate the energy that they bring to the field and we’ve taken a lot away from them in that sense.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka 131 all out (45.2) (D. Rasangika 43; E. Orborne 3-9, L. Sthalekar 2-26)

Australia 132-1 (22.2) (M. Lanning 37, R. Haynes 71*)

Source: The Island (Sri Lanka)