Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
