Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target 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,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps the team's poorest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six 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 while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
