Defending champions Australia proved why they are considered the top favourite to retain the title, coming up with a dominant performance to outclass neighbours New Zealand and take control of Group A at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup here on Tuesday. In the five-team Group of Death which has India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as the other contenders for the knockout spots, Australia scored their second successive win and moved up to four points.

The six-time champions bested their antipodean neighbours in all departments of the game, winning by 60 runs to cement their spot at the top of Group A. It was the Australian top order that set up the win with an aggressive batting effort, as Alyssa Healy (26 from 20), Beth Mooney (40 from 32), Elysse Perry (30 from 24) and Phoebe Litchfield (18 from 18) did the heavy lifting to set New Zealand 149 to win in Sharjah.

And New Zealand slumped to a 60-run loss as they were blitzed by a brilliant bowling effort from the defending champions, for whom Megan Schutt returned extraordinary figures of 2/3 from her three overs, with Sophie Molineux (2/15) and Annabel Sutherland (3/21) also impressing.

The margin of defeat could have been even greater were it not for Melie Kerr, who hit back to restrict Australia with an inspired display in the field, taking 4/26 and holding on to a terrific catch, before top-scoring for her side with 29.

New Zealand’s chase suffered an early setback when Megan Schutt wrote herself into the record books, bowling Georgia Plimmer (4) in the third over to become the leading wicket-taker in the history of women’s T20Is.

The White Ferns looked intent on setting a platform early in their effort, reaching 29/1 at the end of the powerplay, with Melie Kerr and Suzie Bates surviving a testing spell against the Australian attack. But the innings turned on the wicket of Kerr (29 from 31), who looked to take on Schutt to up the scoring rate and miscued a catch straight to Annabel Sutherland.

And the wickets tumbled from thereon in.

Georgia Wareham got in on the act, accounting for Brooke Halliday (2), before Sutherland took centre stage, putting herself on a hat-trick as she cleaned up Maddy Green (1) and then had Isabella Gaze (0) trapped in front next ball. The hat-trick wasn’t to be, but Sutherland bagged her third wicket when she returned to clean up Rosemary Mair, finishing with figures of 3/21.

Earlier, Australia won the toss and opted to bat first, and they got off to a superb start as Alyssa Healy sparkled in the early overs, peppering the boundary in her 26 (20).

New Zealand picked up the big wicket when Healy skied a catch off Rosemary Mair to bring Ellyse Perry to the crease, but fellow opener Beth Mooney picked up the mantle to build a decent platform for the defending champions.

Australia reached 43/1 at the end of the six-over powerplay and Perry struggled to get going at the start of her innings as the scoring rate briefly slowed. However, Mooney carried on where she left off in Australia’s win over Sri Lanka, keeping the scoreboard ticking over to give her team’s deep batting lineup a large platform to build off in the back end of the innings.

Mooney’s innings came to an end when she mistimed a shot off Melie Kerr, offing a simple catch to Maddie Green, departing for 40 (32).

New Zealand hit back through the middle overs as an inspired Kerr bowled Perry (30 from 24) and new batter Grace Harris with consecutive balls to reduce the Aussies to 109/4.

Kerr picked up a fourth wicket when she had Georgia Wareham caught for 4 (5), finishing with figures of 4/26, and she was heavily involved in the field too, pulling off an excellent catch in the deep to remove Phoebe Litchfield (18 from 18) off the bowling of Brooke Halliday.

Australia closed on 148/8, leaving New Zealand with a target that proved far too challenging in the second innings.

Brief scores:

Australia Women 148/8 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 40, Ellyse Perry 30, Alyssa Healy 26; Amelia Kerr 4-26, Rosemary Mair 2-22, Brooke Halliday 2-16) beat New Zealand Women 88 all our in 19.2 overs (Amelia Kerr 29, Suzie Bates 20; Megan Schutt 3-3, Annabel Sutherland 3-21, Sophie Molineux 2-15) by 60 runs.