Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
