Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
