Australia claim Commonwealth Games gold

Australia are T20 World Cup, 50-over World Cup and Commonwealth Games champions, having also won the Women's Ashes earlier this year

Edgbaston: Australia 161-8, India 152 - Australia win by nine runs

Scorecard

Australia claimed gold in the Commonwealth Games, defeating India, just as they did when the teams last met in a global T20 final at the T20 World Cup two years ago, reaffirming their status as the world's most dominant team in the process.

Beth Mooney top-scored with 61 for Meg Lanning's side, who featured Tahlia McGrath despite the allrounder testing positive for Covid in the build-up at Edgbaston.

McGrath was pictured sitting in the stands with a mask on while waiting to bat and didn't appear for the pre-match anthems after it emerged that she had shown mild symptoms but been cleared to play ahead of the final, a situation that led to a 10-minute delay ahead of the coin toss.

When she came out to bat at No.4 – without a mask – she made two off four balls before being caught off an attempted cut against Deepti Sharma. It was the third wicket to fall after Lanning had won the toss and elected to bat, looking to add yet another title to the set compiled by her all-conquering charges.

They lost Alyssa Healy early – a rare failure in a final for the ultimate big-game player – trapped in front by Renuka Singh and given out on review, before Mooney and Lanning added 74 for the second wicket in just under eight overs.

That stand was broken in somewhat remarkable circumstances, with Radha Yadav somehow flicking the ball through her legs and onto the stumps with Lanning left stranded as she backed up. It was one of several incidents in a thrilling game: Yastika Bhatia replaced Taniya Bhatia as a concussion substitute after the India wicketkeeper took a blow on the helmet while standing up to the stumps.

^{Australia are T20 World Cup, 50-over World Cup and Commonwealth Games champions (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)}

Ashleigh Gardner added important impetus for Australia, getting off the mark with a boundary after McGrath had fallen cheaply, while Grace Harris also made just two. Rachael Haynes eventually came to the middle at No.7, adding an unbeaten 18 in just 10 balls as the World Cup winners reached 161 for 8 in their 20 overs.

In response, India looked to have batted themselves into a dominant position as Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur put on 96 for the third wicket despite the losses of Shafali Verma and semi-final hero Smriti Mandhana.

But after Rodrigues was bowled by Megan Schutt for a run-a-ball 33, the pressure of the chase took hold: Pooja Vastrakar and Kaur fell to Gardner in successive deliveries, before Sneh Rana and Yadav were run out – by Darcie Brown and Harris – within four balls of one another.

Yadav's dismissal was the first of four wickets to fall in the last eight balls of the match – ending with Jess Jonassen's successful lbw appeal against Yastika – sparking more celebrations for a team used to winning.the c

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