Australia were as clinical as expected in sweeping West Indies out of their path to the T20 World Cup final, as an eight-wicket victory removed their "semi-final curse".
Such an emphatic result at The Oval bolstered Australia's reputation as trophy favourites, but it was perhaps their relief at securing their place at Lord's on Sunday that was most telling.
It offered some insight into how hard it has been for a team so used to being world-beaters. They came in with a shaky recent record in the knockout phase of global tournaments, but demonstrated the work they've done to address that.
Australia were knocked out in the semi-finals of last year's 50-over World Cup by eventual champions India, and at the 2024 T20 World Cup by South Africa, who finished as runners-up to New Zealand. That meant that Australia entered this event without any silverware to defend for the first time since 2018.
"It's obviously been pretty frustrating, the way that we've ended our campaigns over the last couple of World Cups," said Ash Gardner, whose two wickets and 20-ball 35 in a half-century stand with Beth Mooney earned her Player of the Match. "But I guess, brush that off, get that curse away."
"I felt like this is the best cricket that we've played in a very long time. We're not relying on one or two people — in those big moments different people are standing up, which is amazing to be a part of."
Mooney, whose unbeaten 61 off 36 balls took Australia past a meagre target of 126 with seven overs to spare, revealed that the team had spoken in the lead-up to this World Cup about managing themselves in big games and pressure moments.
"It's a much better way to be sitting in a press conference after a semi-final, that's for sure," Mooney said. "Even chasing 125, it's never over until it's over. Thankfully, we were able to do that both with the ball and the bat."
With Perry off, Gardner came in to back up her performance as the pick of Australia's enviable spin attack with four fours and a six, including the winning runs. She had taken 2 for 13 from her four overs, including a double-wicket maiden to remove Stafanie Taylor and Jahzara Claxton for no score.
"She batted beautifully against India at Lord's the other day," Mooney said. "She gets a lot of confidence from that and I think we saw that today with the ball, where she bowled beautifully and took wickets at critical times."