Australia set up final showdown with India

The match in a tweet: Aussies win! Molineux and Vlaeminck lead a superb display with the ball to seal a spot in the CommBank T20I Tri-Series final!

The score: Australia 7-132 (Mooney 50, Haynes 24; Glenn 2-18, Ecclestone 2-19) defeated England 7-116 (Winfield 23, Brunt 23*; Molineux 3-19, Vlaeminck 2-18) by 16 runs at Junction Oval, Melbourne

The tri-series: Australia will meet India in the CommBank Tri-Series final at Junction Oval on Wednesday (1.40pm AEDT), with the hosts given a chance to atone for Saturday’s defeat and build more confidence ahead of the T20 World Cup. England, meanwhile, will play a Cricket Australia at Junction Oval at 10am AEDT on Wednesday.

The hero: Sophie Molineux turned the screws on England brilliantly in a four-over spell of 3-19 to help Australia defend a total that, at the innings break, seemed below par. In just her second match back for Australia after taking a break to focus on her mental health, Molineux had the dangerous Natalie Sciver (16) caught on the boundary with her third delivery before claiming the huge scalp of in-form England captain Heather Knight (13) with the first ball of her second, deceiving the right-hander before Alyssa Healy whipped off the bails. She collected a third to cap off a brilliant spell, bowling Tammy Beaumont (6).

The pace ace: Recalled to the Australian XI after sitting out Saturday’s game against India, Tayla Vlaeminck was breathing fire as she collected 2-18 from four overs. The pressure built up as England struggled to adjust to her extra pace was crucial given the total Australia were attempting to defend, while she also picked up two huge wickets, with Danni Wyatt (11) caught behind edging down leg, while a superb delivery beat fellow opener Amy Jones for pace, bowling her for nine.

The support cast: It was a day for the spinners, as Molineux’s fellow left-arm tweaker Jess Jonassen (1-12 off three) also piled the pressure on England through the middle overs. After bowling just the one power play over against India on Saturday and coming in for some punishment, Jonassen bounced back brilliantly and had Fran Wilson stumped for two.

Australia opener Beth Mooney was the only home batter to look at ease, finding the boundary six times in her 40-ball 50. She anchored the innings for 16 overs but came unstuck attempting to up the ante, bowled by leg-spinner Glenn.

The consolation acts: England spin twins Sophie Ecclestone and Sarah Glenn produced an outstanding display with the ball to ensure the Australian batters never gathered any real momentum. Left-armer Ecclestone showed why she is one of the world’s premier T20I bowlers, collecting 2-19 and bowling Ashleigh Gardner (10) and Ellyse Perry (10), while leg-spinner Glenn enjoyed another successful outing on what is her maiden tour of Australia, rattling the stumps of Australia captain Meg Lanning (12) before bowling Mooney.

The stat: Australia's 7-132 was their lowest total batting first since the 2016 T20 World Cup in India. During that tournament, they also successfully defended 6-132 against England, in the tournament semi-final.

The form: Australia opener Healy was dismissed cheaply again, holing out for one in the opening over. She now has scores of 1, 0, 1 and 9 for the tri-series – the first time since February 2013 she has failed to reach double figures in four consecutive T20Is. It is less than ideal form heading into the T20 World Cup and also comes after a remarkable run that saw Healy average 45.23 for Australia in T20Is across a two-year period, while she was recently crowned the ICC’s T20I Player of the Year for 2019.

Australia XI: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Meg Lanning (c), Ellyse Perry, Rachel Haynes, Sophie Molineux, Jess Jonassen, Nicola Carey, Megan Schutt, Tayla Vlaeminck 

CommBank T20I tri-series

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

First T20I: India beat England by five wickets

Second T20I: England beat Australia in Super Over

Third T20I: Australia won by four wickets, Manuka Oval

Fourth T20I: England won by four wickets

Fifth T20I: India won by seven wickets

Sixth T20I: February 9, Australia v England

Final: February 12, Junction Oval

* All matches will be broadcast on the Seven Network and Fox Cricket, live stream on Kayo and the CA Live app or listen on ABC Grandstand

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Warm-ups

February 15: Australia v West Indies, Allan Border Field

February 18: Australia v South Africa, Karen Rolton Oval

Tournament

February 21:Australia v India, Sydney Showgrounds

February 24: Australia v Sri Lanka, WACA Ground

February 27: Australia v Bangladesh, Manuka Oval 

March 2: Australia v New Zealand, Junction Oval

March 5: Semi-final 1, SCG

March 5: Semi-final 2, SCG

March 8: Final, MCG

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE

* All matches will be broadcast on Fox Cricket and Kayo, while Australia’s matches will also be broadcast on the Nine Network