Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's weakest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team's poorest 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 review,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
