Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst 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 an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
