Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
