Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six 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 got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
