Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly the team's poorest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular 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 luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled 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 place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
