Women's T20 WC: More than 50,000 tickets sold for final at MCG

At the halfway mark of the group stage of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020, over 50,000 tickets have been sold out for the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on March 8.

Already the event has set new benchmarks, including the highest attendance at a standalone women's cricket match in Australia, when 13,432 attended the opening clash between Australia and India at Sydney Showground Stadium on February 21.

The tournament remains wide open, reflecting the increasing strength of women's cricket globally. The competitiveness of the cricket has seen five of the 10 matches go to the final over.

Melbourne often referred to as 'the sporting capital of the world', is getting closer to filling the MCG in just nine days' time, for what will be a historic sporting occasion.

Global pop superstar Katy Perry will perform during both the pre-game show and will return for a post-game concert, as part of the T20 World Cup final celebrations on International Women's Day.

The tickets are available at family-friendly prices for adults and children. The current record for attendance was set at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup final, when 90,185 watched the USA beat China at the Rose Bowl in California, USA.

Defending champions Australia took a step towards qualifying for the semi-finals with a big win over Bangladesh at Manuka Oval on Thursday night in front of 5,614, a record crowd for a women's cricket match in Canberra.

The hosts will now face New Zealand in a must-win clash for both sides at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on March 2, after India maintained their unbeaten run and secured a semi-final spot with a thrilling final-over victory over the White Ferns.

Double-header semi-finals will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday, March 5.

The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 final represents another big step forward, following the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2017 final at a sold-out Lord's. The number of tickets sold so far for the MCG final on March 8 represents more than twice the number of tickets that were pre-sold to the Lord's final.