Australia have the chance to collect a record third straight Women’s World Twenty20 crown on Sunday after claiming an intense semi-final victory over West Indies.

The Southern Stars won by eight runs in Dhaka on Thursday night, their opening total of 140 proving too much for Merissa Aguilleira’s side.

It’s the third time in as many years the West Indies have fallen to Australia in a knockout match, having lost to them in the 2012 tournament’s semi-final in Sri Lanka and again in the 2013 World Cup decider.

But they didn’t go down without a fight – Deandra Dottin leading a late charge with 40 runs off 35 balls.

Her 73-run partnership with Stacy-Ann King looked to threaten the Stars’ title defence, only to be caught on the fence by player-of-the-match Erin Osborne in the penultimate over.

Elyse Villani got Australia off to a powerful start, hitting seven fours on her way to a top-score of 35.

A steady 29 runs from captain Meg Lanning helped push the total along before Alyssa Healy hit an unbeaten quick-fire 30.

Obsorne said Healy’s innings was crucial in lifting Australia, who she believed were struggling early on.

“It was actually useful having her bat a little bit lower today and come in and play that explosive innings – it’s exactly what we needed,” she said.

“We know the West Indies have a few players that can take the game away from you, and we saw that with (Deandra) Dottin.

“I think in big games we’ve had the experience and we know that small targets are probably the hardest ones to achieve for the batting side.

“We had belief in going out there, we just knew we had to be disciplined in our bowling.”

Despite the loss, Aguilleira said there were plenty of positives to take out of the match.

“Coming in here, we knew we were playing the world champs – and they weren’t going to give up their position just like that,” the skipper said.

“Australia have (always) been at the top of the table and we are pretty much developing.

“The improvement from my team is growing rapidly but Australia, they took advantage of us in the end.

“Even though we fell short, I think we really fought back this game.”

Australia will next face either England and South Africa, who play in the second semi-final on Friday.