Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score 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 mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting 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 Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
