Australia has extended its dynasty of global domination, claiming their third-straight T20 World Cup overnight after defeating tournament hosts South Africa by 19 runs.
The gold-standard guests were steered to victory by the brilliant blade of Beth Mooney, with the Belinda Clark medallist scoring an unbeaten 74 off 53 balls before the sold-out Newlands crowd.
Mooney's steadfast innings was enough to thwart South African star Laura Wolvaardt's 61-run stand in reply. The 23-year-old's knock helped the hosts to a final score of 6/156 but wasn't enough to eclipse the Aussies' total of 156 set earlier in the afternoon.
The victory by Meg Lanning's all-star XI saw them add yet another trophy to their already crammed cabinet, with their most recent cup sitting beside T20 gongs earned in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2020, as well as the 2022 ODI World Cup and the slew of Commonwealth Games gold medals won in Birmingham last year.
Australia has now won six of the eight T20 World Cups on offer since the tournament's inception in 2009, with England (2009) and the West Indies (2016) acting as the only other sides to have tasted success throughout the past 14 years.
The six-time champion's undefeated record across the past month in the Rainbow Nation added further shine, with Australia's only real challenge coming during their semi-final date against India, a contest they eventually won by five runs.
Lanning's side will enjoy some much-deserved rest and relaxation across the next three months and change before reconvening ahead of their tour of England across June and July.
Australia is set to face its old enemy in a trio of T20I clashes, three ODIs, and a one-off Test to commence the tour in style.
The sole Test is scheduled to begin at Trent Bridge on June 22.
