Southampton, June 20 (IANS) Australia captain Sophie Molineux praised the Netherlands for their fighting display despite her side cruising to a 98-run victory in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, saying the Dutch batters made life difficult for the defending champions after they had posted a daunting total.

Australia continued their unbeaten run in the tournament with a commanding performance at the Rose Bowl, piling up 219/6 before restricting the Netherlands to 121/3.

Beth Mooney starred with the bat, smashing 74 off 42 deliveries to earn the Player of the Match award, while Ashleigh Gardner chipped in with a rapid 58 from 32 balls as Australia registered one of the highest totals of the competition.

Despite the one-sided result, Molineux reserved special praise for the Dutch side, particularly Sterre Kalis and captain Babette de Leede, whose unbeaten partnership frustrated Australia’s bowlers during the chase.

“It was a good win. I thought the Netherlands played really well, especially Sterre, but we just couldn’t get a wicket. So full credit to them. They played really well, but I was really pleased that we could make a big score, and yeah, it was really enjoyable to be out here and play against them, “Molineux said after the match.

After racing to a massive total, Australia looked set to wrap up the chase quickly but found it difficult to break through as De Leede and Kalis dug in to guide the Netherlands past the 100-run mark and ensure they batted out their full quota of overs.

Molineux said Australia’s wealth of bowling resources remains one of the team’s greatest strengths, even if they were unable to find a breakthrough for long periods against the resilient Dutch pair.

“I don’t see it as a problem. I think it’s just a little bit of trying to find the right fit at the right time. But yeah, we couldn’t get a breakthrough there for a long time,” she said.

“I think the beauty of having a lot of different options is you can sort of cycle through them and see what works,” she added.

–IANS

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