Dates | 21 February – 8 March 2020 |
---|---|
Administrator(s) | International Cricket Council |
Cricket format | Women's Twenty20 International |
Tournament format(s) | Group stage & knockout |
Host(s) | Australia |
Champions | Australia (5th title) |
Runners-up | India |
Participants | 10 |
Matches | 23 |
Attendance | 136,549 (5,937 per match) |
Player of the series | Beth Mooney |
Most runs | Beth Mooney (259)[1] |
Most wickets | Megan Schutt (13)[2] |
Official website | iccworldtwenty20.com |
The 2020 Women's T20 World Cup was the seventh ICC Women's T20 World Cup tournament.[3] It was held in Australia between 21 February and 8 March 2020.[4][5] The final took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women's Day.[6] Hosts Australia won the tournament, beating India by 85 runs, to win their fifth title.[7]
It was a standalone tournament, the men's tournament was initially held eight months ahead of the schedule, but would be postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3][8] Australia were the defending champions,[9] and lost their opening match of the tournament against India.[10] For the first time at the Women's T20 World Cup, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the use of technology to monitor front-foot no-balls for all matches during the tournament.[11] The third umpire assisted the umpire at the bowler's end in calling the front-foot no-balls, communicating this to the on-field umpires.[12]
India were the first team to qualify for the semi-finals, after recording three wins from their first three matches.[13] India won their final group game, against Sri Lanka,[14] and finished top of Group A.[15] South Africa were the second team to qualify for the semi-finals, after they also won their first three group games.[16] England were the third team to advance to the semi-finals, after beating the West Indies in their final group game.[17] In the final match of Group A, hosts Australia beat New Zealand by four runs to take the fourth and final spot in the semi-finals.[18] The final match in Group B, between South Africa and the West Indies, was abandoned due to rain, meaning South Africa finished top of the group.[19] Therefore, England were drawn against India in the first semi-final, and Australia faced South Africa in the second semi-final.[20]
The first semi-final was abandoned with no play due to rain, meaning India advanced to the final, after finishing top of Group A.[21] It was the first time that India had progressed to the final of the Women's T20 World Cup.[22] In the second semi-final, hosts Australia beat South Africa by five runs in a rain-affected match.[23]