Australia Women defeated Pakistan by 44 runs in their group A match on Wednesday, improving their record at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Tahlia McGrath and Beth Mooney put up an unbroken 141-run partnership that made the difference.
A bright beginning for Pakistan with the ball quickly turned into a nightmare as Australia established their dominance and won the competition three times in a row. The Meg Lanning-led team had won its first two games against Barbados and India before facing Pakistan.
After deciding to bat first, Australia lost Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy in the Powerplay and limped along to 22/2 at the conclusion of the first six overs. Tahlia McGrath and Beth Mooney swiftly dispelled Pakistan's thoughts that they could continue to tighten the screws from there.
With at least one boundary off each over, the pair combined for 36 runs in the four overs that followed the Powerplay. The pair stayed on to attack the opposition bowlers despite Aiman Anwer's tight overs.
Mooney quickly followed McGrath in completing her half-century, which also marked their respective centuries standing apart. Pakistan had no solutions as Australia scored 58 runs in the final four overs of the game. As Australia scored 160-2 in 20 overs, McGrath finished unbeaten on 78 off 51 balls, her third T20I half-century in six innings, while Mooney made 70 not out off 49.
Pakistan's reply got off to a shaky start, losing two wickets in the opening two overs. A promising partnership between Bismah Maroof and Omaima Sohail attempted to save the innings, but it fizzled out quickly.
Alana King cleaned up Sohail, and Aliya Riaz quickly left the scene after making a poor judgement call on her second run. For a time, Maroof kept the innings together, but once she was bowled by McGrath, Pakistan's ability to reach the three-figure mark itself seemed difficult.
Australia defeated Pakistan with ease after restricting them to 116-8 in 20 overs thanks in large part to the outstanding all-around performance of Tahlia McGrath, who added a third wicket to her total.
Brief scores: Australia 160/2 (McGrath 78 not out, Mooney 70 not out) beat Pakistan 116 for 8 (Sana 35 not out, McGrath 3-13) by 44 runs