Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
