Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial 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 succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, 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 World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
