Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
