Australia produced a strong showing as they defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets to get the defense of their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup crown off to the best possible start.

Sri Lanka chose to bat first in Sharjah but struggled to 93 for seven, with Nilakshika Silva top scoring with an unbeaten 29.

Australia showed it was not easy going for either team but could rely on Beth Mooney, who battled through the energy-sapping sun to make 43 not out and see her team home with 5.4 overs to spare.

Sri Lanka needed a positive start against the world number one side, who put the squeeze on from the outset - with 10 balls passing until the first run was scored and Vishmi Gunaratne departing for a duck.

Captain, Chamari Athapaththu soon followed for just three as Australia successfully reviewed an LBW decision with Ashleigh Gardner claiming her first wicket.

Sri Lanka’s first boundary came as Harshitha Samarawickrama took advantage of a free hit with a four after Australia’s third no ball of the innings.

Australia made some unwanted history with a record fifth no ball as Darcie Brown's first over cost 12, taking Sri Lanka to 23 for two at the end of the powerplay. They regained control when Sophie Molineux picked up their third LBW wicket of the innings and Sri Lanka lost the second of their two reviews.

Samarawickrama helped push the score to 43 for three at the halfway stage and was reprieved on 20 as Brown put down a catch as she slid in from extra cover.

The wicketkeeper made only three more runs however, as Molineux got her second wicket with a simple caught and bowled on an impressive return to the World Cup stage after injury trouble.

Silva provided some resistance without improving the scoring rate, finishing on 29 not out from 40 balls.

Her 34-run partnership with Anushka Sanjeewani was ended by Megan Schutt, who took two wickets in two balls to tie Shabnim Ismail for the most T20 World Cup wickets with 43 as Sri Lanka posted 93 for seven.

Australia lost captain Alyssa Healy in the opening over of the reply as she was clean bowled by Udeshika Prabodhani.

The gamble to promote Georgia Wareham up the order did not pay off as she was run out thanks to smart fielding from Kavisha Dilhari to leave Australia at 14 for two.

It was left to the uber-calm Mooney to steer the chase and she steered Australia to 62 for three at the halfway stage alongside Gardner.

The partnership was eventually broken at 43 as Gardner skied a shot that Samarawickrama gladly gobbled up, but it only postponed the inevitable.

Mooney ended on 43 not out, as she picked up where she left off in World Cup cricket, having been named Player of the Final in 2023 for her 78 not out in their victory.

Australia too continued their winning form at World Cups with a 12th victory in a row to triumph by six wickets.

Scores in brief

Australia v Sri Lanka at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Sri Lanka 93/7 in 20 overs (Nilakshika Silva 29 not out, Harshitha Samarawickrama 23; Megan Schutt 3/12, Sophie Molineux 2/20)

Australia 94/4 in 14.2 overs (Beth Mooney 43 not out, Ellyse Perry 17; Sugandika Kumari 1/16, Udeshika Prabodani 1/19)

Result: Australia won by six wickets

The battle to reach the top of the ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings is closer than ever ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.

With the tournament set to get underway on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates, 10 countries will battle for supremacy to be crowned world champions on October 20.

However, while full focus will be on powering their respective teams to glory, some players will also have their eyes on topping the ICC batting, bowling, and all-rounder rankings come the end of the month.

Just 22 points currently separate the top five batters, with West Indies captain Hayley Matthews leading the charge to become the first non-Australian in three years to reach the summit. But, she will have to get past Australia’s Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath to do so.

Mooney currently heads the standings at 757 points, nine ahead of her compatriot and former number one McGrath. Mooney showed why she is the one to beat with an impressive 30-ball half century in Australia’s warm-up match against England last week.

Matthews is a further two points behind in third with a career-high 746, with India’s Smriti Mandhana also in contention on 743, while Laura Wolvaardt is also close to the leaders on 735.

Big performances from any of the top five could shake up the individual standings with so little to choose between each player.

There are six countries represented in the top ten, with Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu being just nine points off the 700-point barrier, while New Zealand pair Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine are ninth and tenth, respectively.

Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana makes it seven countries in the top 13 batters, as she is the first female Bangladesh batter to accrue over 600 points.

Where the all-rounder ranking is concerned, Matthews is large and in charge there with a comfortable 109-point lead over Australia’s Ash Gardner thanks to her total of 524.

The top six all-rounders all hail from different nations, with India’s Deepti Sharma and New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr both just below the 400-point threshold.

Sri Lankan Chamari Athapaththu is the only other all-rounder above 300, with 330, while Pakistan’s Nida Dar rounds out a top six, demonstrative of the diverse strength with bat and ball set to be on show at the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Meanwhile, the bowling rankings are similarly hotly contested, with just 12 points between first and fourth. England’s Sophie Ecclestone leads the way with 757 points, but she is just two ahead of India’s Deepti Sharma.

The top four are all spinners, with Pakistan’s Sadia Iqbal on 750 points and England’s Sarah Glenn a further five back on 745.

Indeed, 13 of the top 15 ranked bowlers are spinners, with Renuka Singh Thakur and Lauren Bell the only seamers amongst that group. Thakur is fifth with 722 points, 35 off the summit.

Bell is 11th on 676 points and is one of four England bowlers in the top 15, alongside Ecclestone, Glenn, and 13th-placed Charlie Dean.

Only Australia has more bowlers in the top 20, with five; Ash Gardner leads the way for the defending champions in ninth place, while Georgia Wareham’s form has helped her climb six places into 14th.

There are eight nations represented in the top 20. Sri Lanka’s Inoshi Fernando leads those looking to break the 700 mark this month with 691 points in seventh, while Bangladesh’s Rabeya Khan is 10th with 677.

West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews contributed a wicket and 18 runs as Mumbai Indians Women registered win number five of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) campaign with a seven-wicket beating of Gujarat Giants Women at the AJ Stadium, on Saturday.

Matthews, who opened the bowling for MI Women, ended with one for 22 from three overs, which assisted in limiting the Giants to 190 for seven from their 20 overs, after they opted to take first strike.

After a sedate start, the 25-year-old Barbadian all-rounder then stroke four boundaries in her 21-ball 18, as she posted an even 50-run opening stand with Yastikia Bhatia, which laid the platform for the successful chase that was anchored by captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who was left unbeaten on 95.

Bhatia made 49 off 36 balls, including eight fours and a solitary six, while Kaur’s breathtaking 48-ball knock included 10 fours and five sixes.

Scores: Gujarat Giants Women 190-7 (20 overs); MI Women 191-3 (19.5 overs)

Despite the slow start, Matthews maintained her composure and eventually found some rhythm with a series of boundaries, before she went caught off Tanuja Kanwar in the next over.

Things got worse for MI Women when they lost England international Nat Sciver-Brunt (two) in the eighth over with the score at 57-2. However, Bhatia and Kaur steadied the innings with a 41-run third wicket stand, before the former offered a return catch to Ashleigh Gardner in the 14th over.

Still, Kaur continued to flow and dominated an unbroken 93-run stand with New Zealand all-rounder Amelia Kerr, whose contribution to the partnership was a mere 12 not out.

With MI Women requiring 13 from the final over, bowled by Gardner, Kaur smashed a six and a four off the first two balls, before scrambling singles with Kerr off the next three deliveries to complete the win with one ball to spare.

Earlier, Gujarat Giants through a 121-run second-wicket stand between Dayalan Hemalatha (74) and her captain Beth Mooney (66), threatened to put the game beyond MI Women’s reach.

Hemalatha hit nine fours and two sixes in her top score which came off 40 balls, while Mooney’s 35-ball knock included eight fours and three sixes.

But their contributions were in vain, as Bharti Fulmali (21) was the next best scorer with the remaining players offering little or no resistance to the MI Women’s bowlers.

With the win, Mumbai India Women remain atop the standing on 10 points, with Delhi Capital Women (8 points), their closest pursuer.