Women’s T20 World Cup, Australia vs Pak: All-round Ellyse Perry sets Australia up for India clash with Pakistan
Ellyse Perry produced a match-winning all-round performance as Australia defeated Pakistan by 113 runs and moved one step closer to the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. The dominant win in Leeds left the tournament favorites on the brink of qualification from Group A ahead of their final league match against India. After being invited to bat, Australia made a strong score of 199/7, with Perry making a brilliant inning of 71 runs.
Pakistan never managed to recover during the chase as Australia’s bowlers demolished the innings, bowling them out for just 86 runs. Perry also made his mark with the ball, claiming 2/9 in a brilliant spell that included two wickets in his opening over.
The 113-run win became Australia’s second-biggest win in the history of the Women’s T20 World Cup, just behind England’s 114-run win over Pakistan in the previous edition. Australia have now won all four of their group matches and have a good net run rate ahead of their blockbuster clash against India at Lord’s.
Perry Anchor Australia
Australia’s innings had a bad start when Beth Mooney was out without opening the account. Sadia Iqbal edged an outside edge and Gul Firozha completed a brilliant diving catch at slip to send it back to the wicketkeeper.
The initial shock brought the experienced Perry to the crease early and he immediately changed the pace. Consecutive boundaries through the off side and midwicket indicated Australia’s aggressive intent.
Georgia Vol matched Perry’s aggression and the pair quickly rebuilt the innings. Perry also scooped Diana Baig over the wicketkeeper, as the two made a half-century partnership in five overs.
Perry continued his dominance and defeated Ramin Shamim, while Voll kept the scoreboard moving. Thanks to Woll’s powerful straight drive, Australia crossed the 100-run mark in the 10th over.
Pakistan finally broke the situation when Nashara Sundhu dismissed Woll for 39 after being caught by Iram Javed. The fielding team attacked again almost immediately, as Ash Gardner fell for a duck and dismissed Diana Baig in the deep.
Although Perry completed a composed half-century, Australia lost momentum for a while. Georgia Wareham were dismissed for five after Ramin was dismissed by Gul Firozha, leaving the score at 107/4.
Annabel Sutherland then reinvigorated the visitors with a quickfire 27 off just 18 balls and added 44 valuable runs with Perry before Fatima Sana took an excellent running catch to dismiss her.
Perry’s impressive innings eventually ended on 71 when she was caught by Muneeba Ali behind the stumps off a short ball from Fatima Sana. Captain Sophie Molineux was also out cheaply off the bowling of Sadia Iqbal, but Nicola Carey scored an unbeaten 26 off just 13 balls to take Australia to 199/7.
Pakistan collapsed due to the dominance of Australia’s bowlers
Pakistan got off to a lively start through Muniba Ali, who hit a boundary off Kim Garth. However, Gul Firozha was run out due to a mix-up while attempting to run after a wide, giving Australia an early breakthrough.
Saira Jabeen followed soon after, finding Ash Gardner in the deep, but Muneeba continued the attack despite Beth Mooney requiring treatment after some heavy diving behind the stumps.
Australia missed an opportunity when Mooney dropped Muneeba and the opener took advantage of it by hitting a four and a six off Garth. Pakistan’s momentum was disrupted again when Ayesha Zafar was run out without scoring due to another miscalculation between the wickets.
Iram Javed hit back briefly and hit three consecutive fours off Gardner to help Pakistan reach 50/3 at the end of the powerplay.
Georgia Wareham then turned the situation around with immediate success, dismissing Iram for 14 when the batsman cut the ball onto his stumps during a wicket-maiden over.
Muniba tried to keep Pakistan in the contest, but after scoring 32 runs in 25 balls, he was out straight to Gardner on Perry’s first ball.
Fatima Sana responded with a few fours against Perry, but Aliya Riaz was soon behind after Mooney. Pakistan’s running errors continued to haunt them, with Ramin Shamim becoming the third batsman to be run out in the innings.
Sophie Molineux removed Nashra Sundhu to leave Pakistan in further trouble, while Fatima’s aggressive run of 17 ended when she missed Annabel Sutherland.
Sutherland ended the contest by having Sadia Iqbal caught behind, capping a brilliant Australian performance that maintained their unbeaten record and cemented their position as one of the favorites for the title.
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