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After beating New Zealand by 75 runs at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on Monday, Australia have moved to an unassailable lead in the ICC Women's Championship race, eventually winning the title.
With the win in the third WODI of the series, Australia completed their 24-match campaign with 39 points (17 wins, three no-results, three defeats). They are beyond the reach of any other teams in the competition.
The most successful team in ICC Events now have become the first team to complete the three-peat of ICC Women's Championship title-winning campaigns. They had won the title back in 2014-16 and 2017-18 cycles as well.
India, who still have two ODI matches against the West Indies, can only reach a maximum of 37 points after the series. Thus, with the win, Alyssa Healy's team claimed the title for the third time. This also means that Australia still are the only team to win the ICC Women's Championship title.
Sri Lanka's gain and pressure for New Zealand
With Australia's win, Sri Lanka also claimed an automatic spot for next year's ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025 in India.
Now, New Zealand (21 points) can be overtaken by Bangladesh ((three matches to play, 19 points earned) and West Indies (five matches to play, 14 points earned) in the race to the next year's ODI World Cup. If the White Ferns fail to qualify via automatic spot, they will have to play in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier where six teams will compete for the final two spots of the tournament.
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What happened in the third ODI?
Phoebe Litchfield and Alyssa Healy put up a solid 88-run partnership for the opening position which enabled Annabel Sutherland (42 from 43 balls ) and Ash Gardner (74 from 62 balls) to take Australia to 290 in the first inning.
Though the hosts looked good at 106/1 after the 20th over, Suize Bates and Melie Kerr's dismissal helped Australia to regain the momentum. Annabel Sutherland (3/39) and Alana King (3/34) then bundled the opponents out for 215 to clinch the series and the title.
