AUS-W vs WI-W

5:45 PM local time, 10:15 PM IST: Australia have booked their places in the final then, as plenty would have thought and expected. Who will join them? Join us after a day's gap, on Thursday (July 2), to find out as hosts England take on South Africa here at The Oval again in semi final number 2. For now, this is Sourabh Agrawal taking your leave on behalf of Pradeep and Bidipto. Ta-ta!

Sophie Molineux (Australia Women captain): (learnings?) Heaps. T20 WC, you just have to ride it. It is full of momentum, swings, I have really enjoyed it, the team has really enjoyed it and that is perhaps the biggest thing. We have helped ourselves to not thinking too far ahead but now we can think about the finals. (what impact did Dottin's situation have?) I had no idea for about the first 5-6 overs. But yes she did have an impact

With the new ball, Kim always shapes the ball in the powerplay and Lucy did a good job as well. Thought those were the best options against them, Hayley and Joseph did try to come hard at us but we held our nerves. (approach in the chase) Just wanted to finish it off as early as we can. Mooney and Ash were clinical

(Perry's retired hurt call?) Precautionary. She should be okay to go for Sunday. (plans for the 5-day gap before the final?) Sleep. Looking forward to a good night's sleep. We will make sure to celebrate what has been a really cool couple of weeks for the group and then rest and recover and then try not play the game over and over in our heads. Make sure we enjoy every part of it

Hayley Matthews [West Indies Women captain]: [On the semi-final defeat] "Maybe it was a bit of both. I don't think we played our best cricket or reached our full potential at any stage of the tournament. We had moments where we were good, but we were never able to put together a complete team performance across all departments, and that's what ultimately cost us." [On Deandra Dottin's medical scare] "It was a frightening moment for all of us. Deandra is such a massive player because of everything she brings to the team. To see her almost pass out after the national anthem was really concerning. But it also showed what a fighter she is. Not only did she come back onto the field, but she also took the attack to Australia. That says everything about her character." [On her approach with the bat] "There was probably a bit of uncertainty because we didn't know whether Deandra would be able to bat. We wanted a strong start, but I also felt the pressure of the situation. Looking back, I probably could've trusted my strengths a little more. It was a difficult balance because we needed to lift the scoring rate, but I also knew I had to stay at the crease for as long as possible." [On the positives from the tournament] "As a group, we can still hold our heads high. A lot of players stepped up and contributed at different times. Aaliyah Alleyne, Stafanie Taylor and Chinelle Henry all played important roles, but we probably lacked that one player who had a truly outstanding tournament. Even so, reaching the semi-finals without relying on one individual shows that more people are contributing now. That's encouraging, and it gives us plenty to build on heading into the next World Cup."

Ashleigh Gardner is the Player of the Match! Here's what she has to say: [On reaching the World Cup final] "It's a great feeling. Momentum always helps in a tournament like this. We knew India would probably be our toughest opponent, so to bounce back with a quick turnaround and come here to a really good wicket in London was ideal. Thankfully, the travel wasn't too demanding, and it's really pleasing to get the win and book our place in the final." [On her bowling spell] "I don't think I've had the impact with the ball that I would've liked throughout the tournament, so it's nice if I've saved my best for the semi-final. I've probably been a bit inconsistent, but today my focus was simply to keep hitting the stumps as often as possible. It was rewarding to execute those plans and pick up a couple of important wickets." [On Australia's spin strategy] "We expected this to be a good wicket, but there was also some inconsistent bounce. Our conversation was about staying as consistent as possible, building pressure with dot balls and singles, and making the batters work for every run. Against a side that likes to find the boundary, we knew dots and ones were just as valuable, and I thought we did that really well." [On rediscovering her batting form] "I wish I had the perfect answer, but I think it's mainly about confidence. I've probably thrown my wicket away too early in a few innings without giving myself a chance to settle. My focus now is to make the most of those first few balls, back my sweep shot, run hard with my partner and trust that the boundaries will come once I'm set."

5:24 PM local time, 9:54 PM IST: MATCH SUMMARY

Australia Women (127/2 in 13 overs) beat West Indies Women (125/7 in 20 overs) by 8 wickets

Beth Mooney 61*(36) | Ash Gardner 3/13(4)
Hayley Matthews 30(28) & 1/23 (3)

Final number 8 in 10 editions for the Australia Women, they missed out the last time in 2024 but it was an anamoly and the most dominant team is back to claim title number 7

Just the most one-sided semi-final you'd see, an absolute no-contest at The Oval as Australia have blown West Indies out of the water and showed who is the side to beat, as they have done all tournament long and now they will move to Lord's for the summit clash

Where do we start? It was all Australia. Started at the toss and just filtered through all the way. Dottin falling ill after the national anthems did not help the cause for West Indies, it was almost as if only one team turned up. Not even for a single moment in the game it looked like there was going to be a different winner

West Indies limbered their way up to an underwhelming total with the bat and then Australia showed them how it is done. 126 was never going to be near enough against this Aussie side and they proved exactly that. Voll started off briskly, hit a few boundaries before she was cleaned up by Henry in the third over. Litchfield departed cheaply, Perry retired out due to some issue but the scoring rate was always well over par at all times

Beth Mooney (61*) looked flawless from one end all through as she almost often does in knockouts, Ash Gardner joined her in the 8th over and both of them just took the side past the finishing line with utmost ease with West Indies not even having a say with the ball

To quote Naseer Hussain's famous words from a different context - 

In Women's cricket, there is Australia, there is daylight and then there are rest

12.6 Aaliyah Alleyne to Ashleigh Gardner, FOUR! THAT'S IT! AUSTRALIA STORM INTO ANOTHER T20 WORLD CUP FINAL! Pure dominance from Australia! They've crushed West Indies to punch their ticket to the World Cup final in emphatic fashion. Back of a length, straying into the pads. Gardner whacked it behind square, one bounce into the ropes to seal the deal.

12.5 Aaliyah Alleyne to Ashleigh Gardner, full on the stumps, Gardner lofted it straight down the ground, doesn't have all the timing and they get a single. To make matters worse, Alleyne has overstepped, signaled a no-ball!

12.4 Aaliyah Alleyne to Ashleigh Gardner, FOUR! Sublime from Gardner. Length delivery on the off-stump, lifts it way over mid-off, couple of bounces into the ropes for a boundary. Just one hit away now Australia.

12.3 Aaliyah Alleyne to Ashleigh Gardner, OH! Misses out Gardner. Low full toss on the pads, goes low to sweep and misses. Deflects off the pad to fine-leg, they pick up a couple of leg-byes.

12.2 Aaliyah Alleyne to Beth Mooney, length delivery, follows the batter as Mooney backed away and tickled it to short fine-leg for just one.

12.1 Aaliyah Alleyne to Ashleigh Gardner, back of a length on the off-stump, Gardner on the backfoot, slaps it to deep covers for just a single.