Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
