Aussie eves favourites against WI

Kolkata

The Southern Stars won all three finals it has featured in during the 2010, 2012 and 2014 editions, while the West Indies have made it to their first-ever title round after being knocked out in the semi-finals on the last three occasions.

Stafanie Taylor’s Caribbean stars have already assured themselves a place in history as the first team other than Australia, England and New Zealand to qualify for a women’s World T20 final.

If records alone mattered, Australia would be the overwhelming favourite to win on Sunday, having beaten the West Indies in all their eight previous T20 Internationals.

During a warm-up match in Chennai last month – the most recent meeting between the two –Australia cruised to  a 43-run win by scoring 139 for three and then bowling the West Indies out for 96.

But Taylor’s side has shown enough resilience during the tournament to suggest it will not be a cakewalk for the world champion Southern Stars, who are led by the world’s leading batter Meg Lanning.

The fifth-ranked West Indies squeezed past Pakistan by four runs in its opening match before comfortably beating Bangladesh by 49 runs. It endured a heart-breaking lastball, one-wicket loss to England before bouncing back to beat India by three runs to seal a place in the semi-finals.

It was in the semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai on Thursday that the West Indies played its best cricket to secure a six-run win over a side that had emerged unscathed in the league. The  tall Britney Cooper, who was brought in for the semi-final, justified her selection with a 48-ball 61 that set up the West Indies win.

Skipper Taylor has proved an inspiration with both bat and ball, her 187 runs in the tournament – second only behind England captain Charlotte Edwards – coming on top of her eight wickets.

In Deandra Dottin, the West Indies has one of the most power-packed all-rounders in the women’s game. Dottin has scored 111 runs and claimed seven wickets.

“We are very much excited” said Taylor. “There will be nerves around, but we have to embrace it, try to be calm and composed and just go there and fight for it.What I admire about the Aussies is that they are fearless. If they go down, they go down fighting.”