Inexorable Australia crush Pakistan by 113 runs to edge closer to semi-finals

Australia continued their dominating run in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 with a massive 113-run victory against Pakistan on Tuesday, June 23 at Headingley, Leeds. After opting to bat first, Australia posted a humongous score of 199/7 in their allotted 20 overs, riding on a splendid innings from Ellyse Perry.

For Pakistan, Sadia Iqbal (2/31), Nashra Sandhu (2/33), and Rameen Shamim (2/34) picked up two wickets each. In reply, Pakistan’s chase never got going as they were skittled for 86 in 13.4 overs with only Muneeba Ali (32 off 25) putting up some fight. For Australia, Sophie Molineux, Annabel Sutherland (2/12, 1.4 overs) and Ellyse Perry (2/9) picked up two wickets each.

Meanwhile, following their win, Australia maintained top position in the Group A points table with eight points from four matches and have planted one foot in the semi finals. On the other hand, Pakistan are reeling in second last position (fifth), yet to taste a win after four games.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Ellyse Perry was adjudged Player of the Match for the second time in the tournament following her magnificent all-round performance. She first played a classy innings of 71 (48), laced with nine fours and a six to rescue Australia after Sadia Iqbal removed Beth Mooney on the very first ball of the match. Later with the ball, Perry bowled a double-wicket over, removing a well-set Muneeba Ali and Aliya Riyaz (0 off 4) in the same over to finish with figures of 2/9 in one over.

Turning Point

Australia were in early trouble when Sadia Iqbal removed Beth Mooney on the very first ball of the innings, courtesy of a terrific catch in the slip by Gull Feroza. However, Pakistan’s hopes of making early inroads into Australia’s batting line up were crushed by Ellyse Perry and Georgia Voll (39 off 28), who stitched a 100-run stand for the second wicket off just 56 balls.

From there on, Pakistan were playing just catch-up cricket and couldn’t stop Australia from posting a big score, which put them under massive pressure

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Sophie Molineux (Australia women):

(On their performance)Yeah, it was good. Nice crowd here tonight. Beautiful, beautiful night for cricket. And yeah, happy with the win. (On her captaincy role) It's been a challenge. It's been pretty different over the last few months, but I'm really lucky that the staff and players have been incredibly supportive. I've really enjoyed it, and if we keep putting in performances like that, it makes the job even more enjoyable. (On balancing everything as a captain) I think the good thing is that we've got options. We've got plenty of depth, and I feel like we're in a really good position in that regard. We can assess the conditions, look at the opposition, and then decide on the best batting and bowling combinations based on that. The depth in our squad is a really good problem to have. (On what pleased her the most?) It was really pleasing, I think even just to, to keep pushing on. I think we had a massive powerplay as well. Pez coming in was really attacking from the start and Voli's been hitting the ball beautifully and Mooney's made 80 the other day. So, it's great. (On anything she will like to address with the team?) I haven't really thought about that yet. We'll always review our games, and there are always areas we want to improve. Even though we've had a couple of strong wins, we haven't ticked every box in each game. There'll definitely be a review, and we'll make sure we're continuing to grow and get better.

Losing Captain, Fatima Sana (Pakistan women):

(On her thoughts on the game) I think we just played our worst cricket in this game, and as a whole team we need to accept that. We need to go back, reflect, and improve ourselves. (On their preparation for tournaments like a World Cup) Personally, I think we got a lot of good practice in before coming here, but we still need a response from the team. That's what we need right now. Otherwise, we had some really good practice sessions and preparation. (On the positives from this game) I think our bowling was very good, especially the way we started. Nashra and Sadia bowled really well, which was awesome. We just need more players to support them because we struggled in other areas. We have good players and they can perform, but we need more contributions from everyone.