Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought 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 run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total 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 Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
