Kingstown, March 20 – Opener Beth Mooney scored a fluent 79 off 55 balls, while Alana King took three wickets as Australia defeated the West Indies women's cricket team by 43 runs in the first T20I of the three-match series played at the Arnos Vale Ground on Friday.
After winning the toss, Australia had a shaky start and were reduced to 34/2 within the powerplay. Opener Georgia Voll was dismissed early, followed by young star Phoebe Litchfield, putting pressure on the visitors.
Mooney then showed her experience and anchored the innings along with Ellyse Perry, who scored 36. The pair added 99 runs for the third wicket, shifting gears after a cautious start. Australia quickly accumulated runs in the second half of the innings, with Mooney reaching her half-century off 42 balls.
Deandra Dottin finally broke the partnership in the 17th over by dismissing Perry. Mooney soon followed, scoring 79 runs. Despite back-to-back wickets, Australia had built a solid platform and eventually scored 164/6 in 20 overs.
The West Indies made a steady start while chasing a challenging target, reaching 33 without loss in the powerplay, thanks to Australia's relatively poor fielding, with Hayley Matthews dropping twice early in the innings.
King, who had earlier missed a return catch, made amends by dismissing Matthews shortly after the powerplay. Qiana Joseph kept the chase alive with a 39-ball 45, as the West Indies reached 69/1 at the halfway stage.
West Indies' key batter Shemaine Campbelle also survived multiple chances, with three catches dropped by the Australians. Despite the poor fielding, the West Indies failed to build momentum.
Joseph was eventually caught, while King trapped Campbell lbw, reducing the hosts to 76/3 in 12.2 overs. A brief rain interruption did little to change the course of the match, as King struck again immediately after play resumed to remove Dottin.
Stafanie Taylor and Jahzara Claxton showed some resilience with a 45-run partnership, but they could not maintain the required run rate and were dismissed in the last over, as the team finished on 121/6 in 20 overs, falling short of the target.
King was the most successful bowler for Australia, finishing with figures of 3-14 in four overs, while Georgia Wareham also took two wickets.
Brief scores: Australia 164/6 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 79, Ellyse Perry 36; Deandra Dottin 3-35, Chinelle Henry 2-28) beat West Indies 121/6 in 20 overs (Qiana Joseph 45, Stafanie Taylor 28; Alana King 3-14, Georgia Wareham 2-14) by 43 runs.