Australia favourites to clinch fourth straight WT20 crown

April 3, 2016
Start time 1430 local (0900 GMT)

The grand finale of the 2016 Women's World T20 is between two contrasting sides - one that knows what it takes to win the cup and another for whom the stage is new territory. Australia, barring the mishap against New Zealand, have run roughshod over their opponents, while West Indies have played an entertaining brand of cricket, even if not always of the highest quality.

Irrespective of Sunday's result, that West Indies have finally managed to pass the semi-final barrier in their fifth attempt is a step in the right direction. But try telling that to Stafanie Taylor and her team, who are looking to upset Australia, having fallen short in each of their eight previous meetings. A rare opportunity to make it a treble of titles for West Indies at global tournaments this year - their U-19 team won the World Cup in Bangladesh - should fire them up.

Taylor, Deandra Dottin and Merissa Aguilleira have been the torchbearers for West Indies since the tournament's inception in 2009. Taylor has even been upfront about how their domestic structure lacks depth and they have had to make do with a limited talent pool. Considering those constraints, the team management would be delighted at having unearthed two players for the future in Hayley Matthews and Britney Cooper, who struck a crucial maiden half-century in the semi-final.

For Australia, the World T20 is simply a culmination of their summer that began with the inaugural Women's Big Bash League, which allowed a lot of their players the best possible match preparation leading into the tournament. A T20I series loss against India offered them an opportunity to rectify creaking areas. While the top-order batsmen took their time to find their bearings on slow surfaces in India, disciplined batting efforts against Sri Lanka and Ireland, followed by a combined show of strength spearheaded by their captain Meg Lanning against England in the semi-final, points to a unit brimming with confidence.

While the batting of both sides has the X-factor that could take the surface out of the equation, Australia seem well rounded in the bowling department. Ellyse Perry, their spearhead, has not had a campaign to remember, but in Megan Schutt and Rene Farrell, they have pacers, whose incisive deliveries upfront and variations at the death have been tough to get away. In comparison, West Indies have relied often on Taylor and Dottin to bail them out, with the ball too. How successful they are in dismantling the Lanning threat will go a long way in deciding the outcome of the final.

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

Australia: WWWLW
West Indies: WWLWW

Britney Cooper made her debut in 2009 and had played 44 T20Is without scoring a half-century. While being shunted up and down the batting order may have not helped, that she was presented with opportunities to play was not lost on anyone. In what was seen as a gamble, Cooper was promoted ahead of accomplished batsmen like Dottin and Aguilleira in the semi-final against a New Zealand side on a rampage. She repaid the faith with a 48-ball 61. More than the runs, the manner in which she accrued them showed why power-hitting is West Indies' stronger suit.

That Australia are gunning for their fourth title is as much due to the efforts of Megan Schutt as it is because of Lanning. Three years ago, Schutt, just two ODIs old then, surprised many with her street-smart variations and subtle changes in length to play a key role in Australia's World Cup triumph. Having been a constant since, she has stepped up every time Australia needed her to; her vital scalps of Tammy Beaumont and Katherine Brunt subdued England's challenge in a tense semi-final.

While most teams would prefer a horses-for-courses approach, both sides are unlikely to tinker with their winning combinations, considering they have bowlers of all kinds for what is largely expected to be a belter of a surface.

Australia (probable) 1 Elyse Villani. 2 Alyssa Healy 3 Meg Lanning 4 Ellyse Perry 5 Alex Blackwell 6 Jess Jonassen 7 Beth Mooney 8 Erin Osborne 9 Megan Schutt 10 Rene Farrell 11 Kristen Beams

West Indies (probable) 1 Stafanie Taylor 2 Hayley Matthews 3 Britney Cooper 4 Shaquana Quintyne 5 Deandra Dottin 6 Stacy-Ann King 7 Shemaine Campbelle 8 Merissa Aguilleira 9 Shamilia Connell 10 Afy Fletcher 11 Anisa Mohammed

The final will be the first women's game at Eden Gardens this tournament, but if the league stage of the men's competition is an indicator, there will be turn on offer, although not to the extent that was seen in the game between India and Pakistan. A 2pm start means there will be no dew, and the toss is unlikely to have that big an impact on the result.

"The men's team has been very successful in the past couple of years. I think they've shown in Tests and by winning the World Cup as well. They've played some good cricket, but couldn't quite get over the line. Virat Kohli took it away from us. We're certainly not competing with them."

"We'll definitely have a 'Champion' dance. Dwayne Bravo said to us that we're not doing it enough. Tomorrow, if we do win, we're going to do it a lot."