*Australia Women 3 for 139 (Lanning 46*, Villani 42) beat Pakistan Women 6 for 119 (Maroof 39, Farrell 2-20) by 20 runs
Meg Lanning’s brisk 46 off 28 balls lifted Australia Women to a total of 139 that eventually proved beyond the reach of the Pakistan Women in the fourth and last T20 in Gold Coast. The 20-run win helped Australia complete a 4-0 sweep after they had beaten Pakistan by the same margin in the ODI series.
Lanning came in to bat in the 10th over of the innings at the fall of Elyse Villani’s wicket and watched as Australia stuttered to 103 for 3. The side lost quick wickets after openers Villani and Delissa Kimmince had given them a strong start, adding 64 in a little under 10 overs.
Lanning and Alex Blackwell then provided the final lift to the innings, taking 35 runs off the last three overs. Lanning took on a bulk of the scoring, striking three fours and six during a five-ball period towards the end as she accelerated from 21 off 17 balls to 46 off 28.
In reply, Pakistan produced their most convincing batting performance of the T20 series, scoring close to the asking rate for a large part of their innings. After Qanita Jalil fell for a duck in the first over, Marina Iqbal and Bismah Maroof steadied the innings with a 59-run stand at a steady 6.32 runs per over. Maroof and Nain Abidi further strengthened Pakistan with a steady 39-run stand for the third wicket.
Pakistan began the last five overs needing 46 off 30 balls but suffered a setback when Maroof was stumped for 39. The Australia bowlers then choked off the runs, giving away six in the next two overs, and the pressure to catch up with the equation resulted in the wickets of Abidi, Asmavia Iqbal and Nida Dar in successive overs. Delissa Kimmince and Rene Farrell picked up two wickets each, Julie Hunter and Erin Osborne took one apiece.
Lanning picked up the Player-of-the-Match award and Villani, who had already established herself at the top of the run-scoring charts, took the Player-of-the-Series award with 181 runs at an average of 60.33.
