AUS Women vs W Indies (W), 1st Semi Final at Wellington, Women's World Cup, Mar 30 2022 - Ball by Ball Commentary

7:15pm England or South Africa - who would join Australia in the title-clash of the Women's World Cup 2022? The second part of the puzzle will be completed tomorrow in the day/nighter from Christchurch. South Africa have never made the final of the World Cup while England are the defending champions. For now, it is Australia who have yet again flexed their muscle like only they can. They have lived up to the favourites tag yet again, like they had done in the Women's T20 World Cup in 2020. The report is up here while you can follow our coverage of the tournament here.

Right then! That brings curtains to the first semi-final. Just two matches are left in this competition. You may want to follow the updates, news and features from our IPL coverage by heading here. Do join us tomorrow for the second semi-final. Till the next time, this is S. Sudarshanan signing off on behalf of Srivathsa and Ranjith. Ciao!

Meg Lanning I have been involved in some very stressful semi-finals in the past. West Indies put us under pressure early on but credit to Haynes and Healy. We felt that first hour was very important. We have felt on a fresh wicket here and conditions can be tricky early on. (On Gardner's promotion) We just felt like we had a good platform and Gardner plays well in those situation. We try to get the most out of our batting line-up and we tried that. Up against a very dangerous team, the batters set us up nicely and the bowlers were disciplined. We want to win the tournament at the end of the day. (On South Africa and England) Both are incredible teams and we won't watch too much of it. I will try and distract myself.

Stafanie Taylor When you look at it, such partnership deflates the whole team. That's what Australia did and the amount of dropped catches never helped. To chase down that total, we had to be positive. We needed somebody from the top four to bat through but we didn't have that. We never talked about Dottin-Matthews opening because Rashada is a strokeplayer and Dottin hits the ball hard. They complement each other and we didn't want to lose both Dottin and Matthews. It was really hard given the batters who were out. We were looking at getting something from the game and get the team to 200. For me personally, disappointed with my performance. I didn't contribute to the team as I would have liked. I was carrying a niggle with by bowling arm and it was a bit hard for me personally. We were flying around and didn't have momentum to recover at the back end.

Ash: "Unless the Aussies have a totally off day in the final, I don't see anyone but them winning the cup. Unmatchable strength and calibre. "

For her ton and the superb run-out, Alyssa Healy, unsurprisingly, has been named the player of the match. It's been a little bit up and down and not quite where I wanted to be and not clinical. The group's been so amazing, everyone in the top six contributed. It's a bit about patience, you've got to ride the ebbs and flows. Batting with someone like Haynes, just a calm nature about her, helps you keep ticking about. (On the run-out) I was foxing a little because my calf was stretching a bit. (Australia in the finals) It's what we set out to do. We wanted to be at the Hagley Oval on the 3rd and I thought everyone did an amazing job. We're going to watch tomorrow who are going to come up against us and prepare well.

Luke: "This Australia side is truly terrifying for the opposition."

6:55pm Australia storm into the final of the Women's World Cup for the seventh time and they have absolutely decimated West Indies. The semi-final proved to be a one-sided contest ever since Healy and Haynes managed a record 216-run opening stand. West Indies were sloppy on the field, put down both the openers and as a result, were staring at a humongous target.

The 306-run chase was remotely possible only if Dottin would have clicked. But once she was out early, Taylor's tactics only puzzled everybody and it almost seemed West Indies had shut shop quite early. Along with Matthews, she added 47 and once Matthews fell, the proceedings slowed further down. With Henry and Mohammed not available to bat due to injuries, it depleted West Indies more.

Connell is in now. She is the last wicket here as Anisa Mohammed is out with a hamstring injury and Chinelle Henry is unwell

Given out LBW, Ramharack reviews. Three reds and it's out