Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side 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,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
