On this day: Australia win third T20 title

Five years ago today, Australia completed a Women’s T20 World Cup three-peat when they emphatically defeated fierce rivals England in the final of the 2014 event in Bangladesh.

The dominant six-wicket victory followed consecutive titles claimed by the Australians in 2010 and 2012, during what was a golden period for the team.

It was also Meg Lanning’s first tournament in charge of the Australian team, with the young skipper – who turned 22 during the event – making an immediate mark with her leadership skills.

In less than 12 months, Lanning’s team will be playing to win their fifth T20 World Cup title on home soil when the 2020 edition of the tournament gets underway in Sydney.

That event will culminate in a final at the MCG on March 8 – International Women’s Day – where it’s hoped a world record crowd for a women’s standalone sporting event will attend.

For now, here’s a look back at Australia’s run to the final of the 2014 tournament and their famous victory over England in the decider.

The Group Stage: March 23-31, 2014: Sylhet

Australia opened the tournament with a showdown against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand, but their campaign got off to a less than ideal start, as they fell seven runs shy of their rivals despite a run-a-ball 41 from Alyssa Healy.

They bounced back in their next outing against South Africa, cruising to a six-wicket victory thanks to an unbeaten 41 from Ellyse Perry, and they made it back-to-back victories in style when Lanning smashed 126 from just 65 deliveries against Ireland.

A mammoth 94-run win over Pakistan was enough to see Australia finish on top of the table, setting up a semi-final against West Indies.

The Semi-Final: April 3, 2014: Mirpur

Result: Australia defeated West Indies by eight runs

Player of the match: Erin Osborne (1-18)

Batting first, Elyse Villani (35) led the way before Healy’s handy lower-order 30 from 21 helped Australia to 5-140 from their 20 overs.

The Windies made a strong start to their chase, reaching 0-43 from the first seven overs before Sarah Coyte and Healy combined to run out the threating Stafanie Taylor for 24.

The dismissal of fellow opener Kycia Knight shortly after had the Australians well positioned, but an aggressive partnership between Deandra Dottin (40 off 35) and Stacy-Ann King (36 off 28) threatened to take the game away from the defending champions.

Needing 21 from the final two overs, Dottin swung hard at a Coyte full toss but only managed to find the safe hands of Erin Osborne, who held on to the key catch.

Then, with 14 required from the final over, the experience of Rene Farrell at the depth paid off as she picked up a wicket and yielded just five singles, sealing a nervous eight-run win and setting up another final against England.

“I was nervous with Dottin, she's one of the cleanest hitters, luckily it was to the biggest side of the ground otherwise it would have been over my head,” Osborne reflected after the match.

“There was belief in our group, obviously we went through some tough group matches that helped us.”

The Final: April 6, 2014: Mirpur

Result: Australia defeated England by six wickets

Player of the match: Sarah Coyte (3-16)

After a close final between the same two teams in the 2014 edition of the tournament, another nail-biter was expected when the fierce rivals met in 2014.

But what played out was something else entirely.

Lanning won the toss and chose to field, a decision which paid off richly as a dominant performance with the ball restricted England to 8-105 – thanks largely to Coyte's 3-16 and Perry's 2-13.

Lanning scored a rapid 44 and while she wasn't able to hit the winning runs – dismissed with two required – her efforts along with Perry's unbeaten 31 ensured the Southern Stars reached their target with 4.5 overs to spare.

"That's probably one of the most complete performances I’ve ever been a part of with the Southern Stars," Australia allrounder Ellyse said when recalled the trio of titles in 2016.

"To do that on a world stage in the final was really pleasing and I think one of our most dominant matches against England."

For wicketkeeper Healy, her standout memory was nearly being caught on the hop after Australia lost two wickets in the space of three balls when they were just one run shy of victory.

"The biggest thing for me from that final would have to be the fact I was padded up in my joggers because I wasn’t expecting to bat," Healy said.

"I was still in my joggers, padded up with Jess Jonassen’s kit – I wasn’t even in the appropriate kit but I was next in to bat – so I was really hoping Pez would get the job done and she did."