Australia knock West Indies out to reach Women's T20 World Cup final

Australia is one step closer to a record seventh Women's T20 World Cup title after comfortably defeating West Indies by eight wickets in the first semi-final. The defending champions chased down 126 for victory with ease, extending their perfect record in the tournament.

Beth Mooney anchored the chase with an unbeaten 61, forming a crucial partnership with Ashleigh Gardner, who added 35 runs and was named player of the match for her all-round performance. Gardner also took two wickets with the ball, expressing satisfaction with her impact after feeling inconsistent earlier in the tournament.

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I feel like I haven’t really had an impact with the ball throughout the tournament. So I guess to save my best till now is always pleasing.

West Indies, after being sent in to bat, had a promising start with captain Hayley Matthews scoring 30. However, a batting collapse saw them slip from 47-0 to 83-6. Despite late resistance, they posted 125-7, a total that proved insufficient against the favored Australian side.

Australia will play the winner of the second semi-final between hosts England and South Africa in the final at Lord's on Sunday. The team has won all five of their group-stage matches.

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I felt like I’ve just probably been pretty inconsistent, where today I was kind of working, just making sure that I was hitting the stumps as often as possible.