The Australian women are into their third successive World T20 final after keeper Alyssa Healy led a rearguard action to beat the West Indies by a nail-biting eight runs in Mirpur.
Healy, the niece of former Test keeper Ian Healy and the partner of Australian paceman Mitchell Starc (who was at the ground), cracked a courageous and timely 30 not out off 21 when the Australians looked unlikely to post more than 120.
Healy and Alex Blackwell (13 off 17) put on an unbroken 48 for the sixth wicket that made all the difference.
Earlier it looked as though Deandra Dottin was going to steal the first semi for the West Indies.
Looking every inch a Chris Gayle replica, Dotty took six deliveries to get off the mark before launching into the Australian attack.
Dotty’s 40 off 35, with four fours and a six, almost gave the Windies their first win in four outings against the Australians. But it was not to be.
Healy deserved player of the match, but Erin Osborne was awarded the honour with her 1-18 off four overs, and a spectacular catch to dismiss the dangerous Dottin.
Had Osborne spilled that chance, there’s little doubt the Windies would have won, and won handsomely.
In fact, the Australians made a rod for their own backs with 52 dot balls, nearly half their total deliveries.
But the difference between the Australian women and men’s Twenty20 sides was their ability to hang in there and make the most of what they had.
Opener Elyse Villani (35 off 32), and skipper Meg Lanning (29 off 22), both gave the Australians early momentum, but with their dismissals the side lost their way until Healy surfaced.
The Australians will now take on England, who made short work of the South Africans in the other semi final. As for the Windies, they will lick their wounds in both tournaments after the men – the defending champions – were knocked out by Sri Lanka in a rain-affected semi final.
Through electric bowling, dashing batting and acrobatic fielding the West Indies made themselves one of the most popular teams throughout history.
After posting 92 with the bat, the RCB star was having an equally brilliant day in the field.
The RCB opener posted a man-of-the-match 92 off 47, as his side defeated Punjab Kings by 60 runs.
The opener scored a man-of-the-match 89 off 30, in the 10-wicket win against Lucknow Super Giants that came off just 9.4 overs.
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