Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches 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,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition'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 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs 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 star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
