Australia won the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup for the sixth time, and completed a second hat-trick, when they beat South Africa by 19 runs in the final at Newlands on Sunday. Opening batter Beth Mooney anchored the Australian innings, scoring an unbeaten 74 in a total of 156 for six. South Africa were never up with the required run rate and were restricted to 137 for six despite opener Laura Wolvaardt hitting 61 off 48 balls. Wolvaardt and semi-final hero Tazmin Brits struggled to find gaps in the field and scored only 17 runs before Brits was caught at mid-on off Darcie Brown off the last ball of the fifth over. Marizanne Kapp hit two boundaries but was out for 11 and South Africa captain Sune Luus was run out for two. At that stage the home side needed another 103 runs off 56 balls. Wolvaardt and the hard-hitting Chloe Tryon gave a near-capacity crowd of about 15,000 hope with an attacking fourth wicket partnership of 55 off 37 balls but the match was effectively over when Wolvaardt was leg before wicket to Megan Schutt in the 17th over. The left-handed Mooney played a measured innings, scoring her 74 runs off 53 balls while a succession of partners batted aggressively. Ash Gardner and Grace Harris both batted ahead of captain Meg Lanning and appeared to be under instructions to go for their shots. South Africa’s bowlers performed steadily and were backed up by enthusiastic fielding. Stalwarts Shabnim Ismail and Kapp both took two wickets each. But Australia showed their quality in defending their total with athleticism and commitment that put the South African batters under constant pressure. It was the second time Australia have completed a hat-trick of titles in this event. Mooney was player of the final, Ash Gardner was player of the tournament. The celebrations are on ???? #AUSvSA #T20WorldCup #TurnItUp pic. twitter. com/mZd9Pnqkw6 — T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) February 26, 2023 #T20WorldCup #SAvAUS 2010 ???? 2012 ???? 2014 ???? 2018 ???? 2020 ???? 2023 ???? AUSTRALIA ARE ICC WOMEN'S T20 WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS AGAIN! https://t. co/URW7U5pB1l pic. twitter. com/w7dNNWelvD — The Field (@thefield_in) February 26, 2023 Thank you, @ProteasWomenCSA ???????? #CricketTwitter #T20WorldCup pic. twitter. com/dp6NmTv8nX — Krithika (@krithika0808) February 26, 2023 Australia are a world class unit and are worthy winners of a sixth ICC Women’s @T20WorldCup title ???????????? We have so much to learn from them in terms of sustainable development of women’s cricket!! #TurnItUp Photo: @AusWomenCricket pic. twitter. com/iDb5APAhl3 — Kass Naidoo (@KassNaidoo) February 26, 2023 CHAMPIONS - ???????? #T20WorldCup pic. twitter. com/7ovK34IMpC — Cricket Queens (@cricketqueens) February 26, 2023 Worthy runners-up ???????? #AUSvSA | #T20WorldCup | #TurnItUp pic. twitter. com/JgbdN7PtBN — T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) February 26, 2023 The reception that the South African team is receiving from its crowd is reflective of what they have achieved. It's massive!???? — Jeet Vachharajani (Women's Cricket) (@Jeetv27WC) February 26, 2023 #T20WorldCup #SAvAUS ✅ Player of the final: Beth Mooney ✅ Player of the tournament: Ash Gardner https://t. co/URW7U5p3bN pic. twitter. com/8hgfYECkbh — The Field (@thefield_in) February 26, 2023 Australia march on. Their dominance in this era is beyond remarkable and it's hard to think of any other team that has managed to hold the whip handle in World Cups/the biggest stages so consistently. In any sport. #T20WorldCup #AUSvSA — Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) February 26, 2023 Since losing the 2017 semifinal against India (Harmanpreet Kaur), Australia have: ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2018 ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2022 CWG 2022 Gold medal ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 What an incredible team. https://t. co/I1oodn4CVV pic. twitter. com/JhYVmk0OsS — Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) February 26, 2023 Once again a reminder that Laura Wolvaardt is just 23. She will get to play in many more finals and pretty sure will end up in the winning side very soon. ???? #T20WorldCup — Krithika (@krithika0808) February 26, 2023 21 titles, ONE NATION ???? Australia as champions in ICC tournaments: ???? Women ODI WC - 1978, 1982, 1988, 1997, 2005, 2013, 2022 #T20WorldCup - 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, ???????????????? ???? ???? Men ODI WC - 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015 T20 WC - 2021 Champions Trophy - 2006, 2009 pic. twitter. com/1m5dzN2MhC — ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 26, 2023 The official crowd figure for the final is 12782. @WomensCricZone . #T20WorldCup pic. twitter. com/ttfYxl7qw7 — Shajin MS #T20WorldCup (@SupertrampMS) February 26, 2023 Let's remember the context of this number. Before this season, women's cricket had not been ticketed in South Africa. So across the tournament and especially for the final, this is a stunning result! Really proud of the team behind the scenes, and the players on the field!???? https://t. co/MgknTG5Cc3 — Snehal Pradhan (@SnehalPradhan) February 26, 2023 This Australian women’s cricket team is basically the strict & unrelenting parent who always knows where you been & who you can never get past even on your best night when you think you’ve done everything right. Best sporting team ever #T20WorldCup — Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) February 26, 2023 Hahahahahah @ahealy77 pic. twitter. com/TujUl0vArx — Australian Women's Cricket Team ???? (@AusWomenCricket) February 26, 2023 This will hurt but it will also bring so much hope. This team have done something incredibly special. Not only are they first to reach a senior World Cup final but they've captured the hearts of a nation - and we saw almost 14,000 of those inspired here today. #T20WorldCup — Firdose Moonda (@FirdoseM) February 26, 2023 The dynasty continues. . . Australia has won its sixth Women's T20 World Cup title, defeating South Africa by 19 runs at Newlands. They're a class above. #T20WorldCup — Nic Savage (@nic_savage1) February 26, 2023 Australia you just won a world cup! Why so chill? ???? #T20WorldCup — PouLaMi (@Crictopher17) February 26, 2023 Australia Women wins their sixth #T20WorldCup thanks to their outstanding fielding throughout the tournament. Other teams too can learn from their committment to this facet of the game. #T20WorldCup2022 #AUSvsSA — Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) February 26, 2023 Australia women at World Cups 1973 ODI RU 1978 ODI???? 1982 ODI???? 1988 ODI???? 1993 ODI 3rd 1997 ODI???? 2000 ODI RU 2005 ODI???? 2009 ODI 4th 2009 T20 SF 2010 T20???? 2012 T20???? 2013 ODI???? 2014 T20???? 2016 T20 RU 2017 ODI SF 2018 T20 ???? 2020 T20???? 2022 ODI???? 2023 T20???? #T20WorldCup https://t. co/FI5hGlS0kx — hypocaust (@_hypocaust) February 26, 2023 Beth Mooney carried her bat and is now carrying Australia's fielding with lightning quick sprints in the outfield. In her head, she is competing with only herself, it seems. All the time. More like Best Mooney. #T20WorldCup — Annesha Ghosh (@ghosh_annesha) February 26, 2023 Another World Cup, another trophy celebration on the pitch for the Australian team #T20WorldCup pic. twitter. com/CVe9VJDmBY — Sa. Gomesh | ச. கோமேஷ் (@SaGomesh) February 26, 2023 THREE-PEAT BABYYYYYY!!! #T20WorldCup — Australian Women's Cricket Team ???? (@AusWomenCricket) February 26, 2023 Brief scores: Australia 156-6 in 20 overs (B. Mooney 74 not out; S. Ismail 2-26, M. Kapp 2-35) v South Africa 137-6 in 20 overs (L. Wolvaardt 61) Result: Australia won by 19 runs Toss: Australia.