Australia beat England by 71 runs to win record-extending seventh Women's World Cup title
Christchurch(PTI): Australia bossed their way to a record-extending seventh Women's World Cup title with a crushing 71-run win over traditional rivals England, stamping their undisputed dominance in the tournament after a breathtaking hundred from Alyssa Healy in the final here on Sunday.
Playing the innings of her life, Healy put England attack to sword with a sensational 170 off 138 balls that powered Australia to a massive 356 for five.
Defending champions England needed something more than special to pull off the record chase but kept losing wickets throughout the innings which ended at 285 in 43.4 overs.
Natalie Sciver, who scored an unbeaten 148 off 121 balls for her second successive hundred against Australia in the competition, eventually ran out of partners.
Australian pacer Megan Schutt (2/42) bowled a brilliant new ball spell removing last match centurion Danielle Wyat (4) and Tammy Beaumont (27) with her lethal in-swingers before leg-spinner Alana King (3/64) turned the ball on a bating beauty to end with three crucial wickets including that of England skipper Heather Knight (26).
Healy, who was dropped on 41, toyed with the English attack in her mesmerising knock, which is now the highest-ever individual score in a World Cup final across men's and women's cricket.
Adam Gilchrist (149, 2007), Sciver (148 in this game), Ricky Ponting (140, 2003) and Viv Richards (138, 1979) are behind Healy in the elite list.
Healey's opening partner Rachael Haynes (68 off 93) and Beth Mooney (62 off 47) also batted with confidence as Australia put on board the highest team total in a World Cup final in women's cricket and second-highest behind the Australian men's team's effort of 359 for two against India in 2003.
To put Australia's achievement in perspective, it was their sixth win in seven World Cup finals, making Meg Lanning's unit one of the greatest teams of all time. Australia had won their first trophy on points back in 1973.
Though England ended runners-up, it was still a remarkable campaign for the defending champions that came into the final after five wins in a row following defeats in its first three games.
They always had run rate under control in the massive chase but the lack of partnerships cost them the game.
Sciver, who smashed 15 fours and a six in her epic knock, fought till the end alongside number 10 batter Charlotte Dean (21 off 24) but they were left to do too much in the end. The duo shared a 65 run-stand for the ninth wicket to take the game deep.
Earlier, Healy forged a 160-run stand with Haynes before sharing 156-runs with left-handed Mooney who was sent in ahead of skipper Meg Lanning to maintain the left and right combination.
A packed and a neutral crowd at Hagley Oval was in for a treat with Healy showing devastating form en route to her second consecutive hundred in the knock-out stage, having scored 129 against West Indies in the semifinal.
Healy flaunted her 360 range of strokes in a sensational effort, scoring runs at will against a bowling line-up that had no answer to her brilliance.
For the major part of her innings, Healy exposed all three stumps to make room for herself and hit bowlers over the mid-off fielder.
Healy never allowed the number one ODI bowler Sophie Eccelstone (1/71) to settle, using her feet against her and other spinners to hit them straight over the in-field.
She also cut and pulled on her way to a fifth ODI hundred and when she was bored hitting the boundaries over mid-off and cover, she moved across the off-stump to play the scoop shot.
Expecting heavy dew in the evening, defending champions England opted to put Australia in to bat.
Australia, the only unbeaten team in the tournament, came out determined to stamp their authority for one last time in the tournament and they certainly did that with the bat.
England limited the damage the last five overs by taking four wickets.
Pacer Anya Shrubsole (3/46) was the only England bowler that ended with respectable figures.
Sciver, Charlotte Dean and Kate Cross conceded more than 8 runs per over.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
